Loons are large aquatic birds that are seen in high numbers off of the New Jersey coast throughout the winter. These beautiful birds are very showy in their breeding plumage, but could be considered fairly plain in the winter. I was able to get a bunch of decent photo ops with Loons during a recent trip to the Barnegat jetty and Manasquan Inlet.
Common Loon at Manasquan Inlet
In Europe they are known as Divers. The name “diver” makes a lot of sense when you normally see this bird – they swim low on the surface of the water then quickly dive under to catch fish, crabs and other small animals. The name “loon” refers to the bird’s poor ability to walk on land, something that you hopefully will not see!
Common Loon at Barnegat
Two different species can be commonly found along the New Jersey coast, The large Common Loon and the smaller Red-throated Loon.
Common Loon
The more-dainty Red-throated Loon
You can easily see the differences in the photos – the Red-throated Loon has a smaller, up-turned bill and more white around the throat and up the cheeks. Both species come in a variety of plumages themselves. I did not get a good variety of cooperative Red-throated Loons during this trip, but I did photograph many individual Common Loons.
It’s always fun to try to get them as they are diving. Last week, I finally caught one kissing the water. Of course, I am always looking for that better shot…
Kissing the water
About to go for the dive
Mid-dive
When they emerge from the water, they may or may not come up with a lucky catch. I am still trying to capture the perfect moment of a Loon and its meal. For now, I have a few mediocre photos of lunch.
Common Loon with a fairly large crab
Down goes the crab
Red-throated Loon downing a large fish
Common Loon Eating shellfish
A small meal for this Common Loon
In a couple of weeks, the Common Loons will be more in breeding plumage. I was able to photograph this in previous years and hope to see them transitioning again this year.
Common Loon transitioning to breeding plumage in 2014
Unfortunately, Red-throated Loons do not make the same transition while in the area and molt after migration. It’s still great to see them every winter!
Red-throated Loon at Manasquan
Common Loon at Manasquan