10/13/2026
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This is important we get a lot of calls for these stranded birds.
๐ฆ๐๐ ๐๐๐ก ๐๐๐ฌ ๐๐จ๐ก๐๐ฅ๐๐๐ฆ ๐ข๐ ๐ ๐๐๐๐ฆ. ๐๐จ๐ง ๐ฆ๐๐ ๐๐๐ก'๐ง ๐ง๐๐๐ ๐ข๐๐ ๐๐ฅ๐ข๐ ๐ ๐ฃ๐๐ฅ๐๐๐ก๐ ๐๐ข๐ง.
It looks like an injured bird.
A large, dark waterbird sits helplessly on wet pavement in October.
Its wings are intact.
Its eyes are open.
There is no obvious blood.
But when it tries to move, something seems terribly wrong.
The bird cannot simply stand up and walk away.
And no matter how much open sky surrounds it, it cannot launch itself back into the air.
๐๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐๐๐ฒ ๐๐ต๐ถ๐ ๐ฏ๐ถ๐ฟ๐ฑ ๐๐ฎ๐๐ป'๐ ๐ฏ๐๐ถ๐น๐ ๐๐ผ ๐ฒ๐๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฝ๐ฒ ๐ณ๐ฟ๐ผ๐บ ๐น๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ.
It is a Common Loon.
One of North America's most extraordinary diving birds.
On a lake, a loon is magnificent.
It can disappear beneath the surface, chase fish underwater, and travel through the water with remarkable speed and precision.
Its legs are positioned far back on its body, giving it powerful propulsion for swimming.
Its bones are unusually dense for a flying bird, reducing buoyancy and helping it dive.
Almost everything about its body has been shaped by life in water.
But those remarkable adaptations come with a cost.
๐ข๐ป ๐ฑ๐ฟ๐ ๐ด๐ฟ๐ผ๐๐ป๐ฑ, ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ฎ๐บ๐ฒ ๐ฏ๐ผ๐ฑ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐บ๐ฎ๐ธ๐ฒ๐ ๐ถ๐ ๐ฎ๐ป ๐ฒ๐
๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ ๐๐๐ถ๐บ๐บ๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ผ๐บ๐ฒ๐ ๐ฎ ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฏ๐น๐ฒ ๐ฑ๐ถ๐๐ฎ๐ฑ๐๐ฎ๐ป๐๐ฎ๐ด๐ฒ.
A loon cannot walk normally like a duck.
Its legs are positioned too far back for comfortable movement on land.
And unlike most familiar backyard birds, it cannot simply spring upward and fly away.
A Common Loon needs a substantial stretch of open water to take flight.
It must run across the surface, beating its wings and building speed until it finally becomes airborne.
That is where October creates a danger few people recognize.
Across the northern United States, loons begin leaving their breeding lakes during autumn migration.
They travel toward larger lakes, coastal waters, and wintering areas.
But during these flights, a strange mistake sometimes happens.
From above, wet pavement can resemble a body of water.
A rain-darkened road.
An empty parking lot.
A broad surface reflecting the sky.
A migrating loon may descend toward that reflection, believing it has found somewhere to land.
๐ง๐ต๐ฒ๐ป ๐ถ๐ ๐ฑ๐ถ๐๐ฐ๐ผ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ถ๐ ๐ป๐ผ ๐๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ.
No long surface across which to run.
No way to swim.
No ordinary way to become airborne again.
The bird may sit there, unable to escape, even though it is otherwise capable of flying.
Cornell Lab of Ornithology confirms that migrating loons sometimes become stranded after mistaking wet roads or parking lots for lakes and rivers.
The Loon Preservation Committee has documented the same problem and warns that a stranded loon needs professional assistance.
And that is what makes this situation so heartbreaking.
A bird capable of traveling across enormous stretches of North America can become trapped in the middle of an ordinary human landscape.
Not because it forgot how to fly.
Not because its wings stopped working.
But because it landed somewhere its body was never designed to leave.
If you encounter a loon sitting on a road, parking lot, lawn, or other dry area this autumn, do not assume it is resting.
And do not try to make it fly by chasing it.
Loons have powerful bills, and handling or releasing one incorrectly can injure both the bird and the person attempting to help.
Keep people and pets at a safe distance.
Contact a licensed wildlife rehabilitator or local wildlife authority experienced with waterbirds.
Do not attempt to transport or release it yourself without professional guidance.
Because the bird may not need encouragement.
It may need someone who understands exactly why it cannot escape.
That is the cruel contradiction of the Common Loon.
In water, its body is an engineering masterpiece.
On pavement, those same adaptations can leave it helpless.
๐ฆ๐๐ ๐๐๐ฆ ๐ง๐๐ ๐ช๐๐ก๐๐ฆ ๐ง๐ข ๐๐ฅ๐ข๐ฆ๐ฆ ๐ ๐๐ข๐ก๐ง๐๐ก๐๐ก๐ง.
๐๐จ๐ง ๐ช๐๐ง๐๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐ช๐๐ง๐๐ฅ, ๐ฆ๐๐ ๐ ๐๐ฌ ๐ก๐๐ฉ๐๐ฅ ๐๐๐๐ฉ๐ ๐ง๐๐ ๐๐ฅ๐ข๐จ๐ก๐.
