 Breeding evidence |
 Relative abundance |
 Probability of observation |
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Click on plot to view table of mean abundance
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Number of squares
Long-term BBS trends
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1.25 (0.00743 - 2.55)|
Mean abundance (number of birds detected per 5 min. point count) and percentage of squares occupied by region Bird Conservation Regions [abund. plot]
[%squares plot]
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Atlas Results
Atlas results coming soon
Excerpts Adapted from the Birds of Saskatchewan:
Beautiful and haunting, the loon's laughing tremolo is produced by both males and females when alarmed. Few other bird species are so essentially Canadian, inhabiting lakes within forested areas of Canada, from Alaska and southern Baffin Island, south short distances into northern North Dakota, Wisconsin, Michigan, New York, and east to Maine. It winters primarily along the Pacific and Atlantic coasts south to northern Mexico. Less frequently it winters on inland waters through most of the continental US (AOU 1998).
Common Loons prefer to breed on lakes larger than 24 ha with clear water for foraging, an abundance of small fish, many small islands, and an irregular shoreline that creates coves. They also use a wide variety of freshwater aquatic habitats, including reservoirs, despite water level fluctuations that can cause repeated nest failures (Evers et al. 2010). Migrants and summering birds may occur on rivers and freshwater lakes and ponds.
The Common Loon is a common summer resident in the subarctic woodland and boreal forest regions including Moose Mountain (Smith 1996). Small numbers nest in the parklands and others occur as summer visitants in the parklands, grasslands, and Cypress Hills, where they are rare to uncommon migrants. Loons once nested regularly in the larger lakes of the Qu'Appelle Valley, but "since the establishment of resort areas and the great increase in holidayers,? resident loons on each of the larger lakes have either declined or disappeared (Callin 1980).
Original text by Alan R. Smith. Text adapted by Daniel J. Sawatzky
Read more about the Common Loon in the Birds of Saskatchewan here.
Recommended citation: Latremouille, L. M. 2025. Common Loon in Latremouille, L. M., S. L. Van Wilgenburg, C. B. Jardine, D. Lepage, A. R. Couturier, D. Evans, D. Iles, and K. L. Drake (eds.). 2025. The Atlas of the Breeding Birds of Saskatchewan, 2017-2021. Birds Canada. Saskatoon, Saskatchewan https://sk.birdatlas.ca/accounts/speciesaccount.jsp?sp=COLO&lang=en [14 Nov 2025]
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