Schroon and Paradox: Looney For Loons

Early in the spring, we heard the sound of a single loon. It had been a while since we’d enjoyed their eerie, beautiful calls.. And as spring turned into summer, we heard more of them

We recently learned that among those calls are the tremolo, a wavering call given when a loon is alarmed or to announce its presence at a lake. The yodel is the male loon’s territorial claim. Each male has his own signature yodel. If a male moves to a different territory, he will change his yodel. The wail is the haunting call that loons give back and forth to figure out each other’s location. Hoots are soft, short calls given to keep in contact with each other. Parents might hoot to a chick, or one mate might hoot to another.

This past weekend was the annual Loon Census in the Adirondacks. While the results will take a while to compile, in the 2018 census there were three recorded on Schroon Lake 4 on Paradox Lake. You can read more, here.