Common Loon
From the comments on my Waterwalker post:
South Shore Grizzled: "Did you hear the White-throats singing...Oh my!"
North Shore Forest: "The "white-throats" you say? "Po-or Sam Peabody, Peabody, Peabody" or "Oh-oh Canada, Canada, Canada" Second to the call of the Loon, of course, it's a song that defines the Northwoods. The first time I hear a Loon call or a White-throat sing when I arrive back in canoe country, I know I am "home", and I feel it in my entire being...just a bird song can do that...."
Sad, sweet, haunting, lovely…poetry in birdsong, beloved trout stream companion, sonorous sprite of the fragrant northwoods. And the day it fails to stir my soul I'll know my life has reached its end.
ReplyDeleteThen that makes at least two of us, Grizzled
ReplyDeleteI didn't know the birds you were talking about yesterday and decided it was okay just to imagine them - and the writing makes it easy to do so.
ReplyDeleteSeeing the photos today just made me smile :)
Bella,
ReplyDeleteYour comment makes me wonder how your mental image of them compared to the pictures. :)
Glad to make you smile.
Your post reminded me of Gordon Lightfoot's 'Whispers of the North.' Though Lightfoot doesn't sing this one, the version at
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tCFL28a7lPM
also includes the loon call at the beginning (similar to the original) which sets the mood for the song. It wouldn't be the same without it and neither would the North.
Right you are, Amylynn. I'm a huge Gordon Lightfoot fan and that's a great song. The loon call is so haunting.
ReplyDeleteLovely bird images FW. Well done.
ReplyDelete...but I'm not sure about the new blog template...
Phreerunner,
ReplyDeleteThank you and point taken. :)
Loon calls accompanied our breakfasts each morning at the family cottage while I was growing up. The first morning up there, you'd listen first for the big granddaddy bullfrog and then as the sun rose, the loons.
ReplyDeleteI used to have a cassette of loon calls I'd play when I wasn't able to get to the cottage each year. I'd play it mid-winter. I felt oriented by the sound.
Now... I rely on memory.
Thanks for triggering it.
Thanks for sharing that, Wilsonian. It's good to know that others are oriented by such things as well.
ReplyDeleteEarly on in my life here in Canada, I visited a friend at their home on Lake Kipawa, several hours north of Ottawa. There I first heard the haunting call of the loon. The presence of loons on a lake is gift, pure gift, and appreciated as such.
ReplyDeleteAs you no doubt know, the Canadian dollar coins bear the image of the loon and are fondly called "loonies." They are as deeply ingrained a part of what it is to be Canadian as the beaver or the Mountie or the Rockies.
As for the warbler, I have never heard of it, but its song sounds familiar.
Barbara,
ReplyDeleteYes, I know the "loonies" well. The Loon certainly is iconic, no doubt, and deservedly so. And you are well aware of my fondness for Canada and many things Canadian.
I didn't notice the little baby Loon in the photo until now - the wildlife differs here, however, I do have a little knowledge of the Canadian landscape from watching "Grizzly Adams" - :) loved that show...I think it was Canadian.
ReplyDeleteThe baby Loon is about the cutest, eh? :)
ReplyDeleteJust a birdsong can do that. For me it is the morning dove, the owl, the wipperwill ( I grew up in Virginia).
ReplyDeleteI visited a friend a few years back who lives in Minnesota. My first time there. I heard the loon for the first time in my life, and it was the most hauntingly beautiful sound I have ever heard.
It is indeed...haunting...and beautiful. :)
ReplyDeleteWelcome back, Molly.