Evening Call - Common Loon [Gavia immer]

Since I was a boy I have spent time almost every summer in 'lake country' on family vacations - swimming, berry picking, roaming fields and forests, getting together with relatives. I have all of these wonderful memories, and I still try to do the same thing with my family now. One of the nicest parts of these vacations was the peaceful atmosphere when we turned out the lights - or in the early days blew out the lights. Of course there were the sounds of the crickets and other night insects (let's not mention mosquitos). There was usually an endless whippoorwill; we could never figure out when it caught its breath.

The lord of night sounds, however, was the call of the loon. We didn't necessarily hear it every night but when we did, we would stop talking and look at each other and smile. When I was very small I used to find it almost too haunting - like some wild ghost. When I was older and knew how to handle a canoe, I would often go paddling on still, moonlit nights with a little bit of mist rising from the water. If a loon called then it was the most magical moment of all.