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The Call of the Loon Transcript-535
BirdNote®
The Call of the Loon
Written by Frances Wood
This is BirdNote!
[Common Loon “yodel” call]
Does this call of the Common Loon bring to mind a summer visit to northern lakes with sunny blue skies? If so, you’ve probably heard and seen loons in Alaska, Canada, northern Minnesota, or New England. This “yodel” call is given by males on their breeding territories.
[More Common Loon “yodel” calling]
Though Common Loons rarely breed here in Washington, large numbers do visit during winter. In October, they begin to settle into Puget Sound and some inland lakes. The call that we hear during winter is quite different from their summer breeding call. Listen to this prolonged, unmodulated tone, sounding somewhat like a wolf’s howl.
[Common Loon’s “wail” call]
We identify this as the “wail” call, reflecting its mournful qualities. Both males and females give this call, for example, when they want to reestablish contact after becoming separated.
Common Loons have another, more cheerful tremolo call. This undulating tone, tagged the “laughing call,” is given while flying.
[Common Loon tremolo call]
As winter ends, Common Loons will return to their breeding territories. Once back to those shining northern lakes, the males will again launch their yodel.
[More “yodel” call]
Did you know that you can hear any episode of BirdNote again, when you come to birdnote.org? [Common Loon’s “wail” call]
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Written by Frances Wood
Calls of the Common Loons provided by The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. Yodel call recorded by D.C. Evans, Wail and Tremolo calls recorded by S.R. Pantle.
Producer: John Kessler
Executive Producer: Chris Peterson
© Seattle Audubon 01/16/06 © 2009 Tune In to Nature.org
Revised for Jan. 2009
ID#011606COLOKPLU
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