Common Loon Black Ink

The Common Loon is an icon of Canada, featured prominently on the face of Canada’s dollar coin. The “Loonie” coins depict a graceful, black, swimming bird checked with white feathers and vibrant red eyes. Perhaps the reason the loon is so familiar to our friends to the north is that loons migrate north in the summer to find breeding grounds, and during the breeding season they become very conspicuous for their unique mating call. Anyone who has spent a night under the stars on the shore of a northern lake during summer knows that ghostly, piercing call. Adult loons of mating age sport jet black feathers intermixed with white feathers to mimic the dappling light patterns under the gentle waves of northern lakes. To us the loon may look regal, dignified, and harmless, but to anything under the water’s surface, the Common Loon is a deadly and efficient hunter. The loon’s blood red eyes are very efficient in finding fish in the dark depths of glacial-formed lakes. They are like magicians,