Loons are returning to Michigan lakes; where to look for these graceful birds
From: Mlive.com
After months of snowy silence, the soul-stirring call of the common loon is returning to Michigan’s wilds.
Loons are now migrating north after spending the winter along the coastal United States. Michigan sightings of loons so far this spring have been reported across the southern parts of the Lower Peninsula to as far north as Petoskey; over the coming weeks, these graceful waterbirds will continue to make their way into the Upper Peninsula and beyond as they return to their breeding grounds across the North.
Loons need large lakes to accommodate their deep, powerful diving and lengthy takeoffs into flight, says Michigan birding expert Caleb Putnam. The species’ spring migration into Michigan is therefore prolonged, occurring over many weeks from about mid-March through April as they follow the slow thawing of the lakes northward.