Common loons, and their evocative wailing calls, are familiar summer residents on northern lakes.   In winter they molt out of the flamboyant breeding coloration (this page) into the subdued gray and white plumage shown here.  These were photographed in Homer, Alaska, Monterey, California, and Bolsa Chica, California.

• Canon 1D4 or 7D2; 500 mm f4 IS lens, some with 2X converter, or 800 mm IS lens with 1.4X converter, close-ups with fill-in flash (2005, 2010, 2014)