Birdwatchers, take note: The first loons of springtime are returning to lakes across Michigan right now — but some loon look-alikes are, too.
This time of year, one of the most likely birds to cause mistaken sightings is the common merganser: a diving duck that, from a distance, can look like Michigan’s beloved common loon.
Like loons, common mergansers are large, graceful swimmers that appear to sit low on the water, according to The Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s All About Birds guide. These mergansers also share the loon’s behavior of diving for fish in our freshwater lakes, and nesting in the northern Great Lakes and Canada.
But grab a pair of binoculars and you can start to see the differences: Unlike male and female loons’ iconic tuxedoed appearance, male common mergansers are stark white with dark green heads, while the females are a soft gray with ruddy heads topped by a shaggy crest.
Another giveaway that you’re not looking at loons is if you see the look-alikes congregating on a lake. Common mergansers have an affinity for migrating in groups, often along with other waterfowl such as buffleheads, common goldeneyes, and other species of mergansers. Loons are far more solitary.
Of course, if you’re treated to hearing your mystery bird call, you’ll know for certain: There’s no mistaking the common loon’s haunting tremolo. Meanwhile, common mergansers are mostly silent, reserving a few simple vocalizations for courtship or nesting.
One other possible loon look-alike is the double-crested cormorant, also a large, dark-colored diving waterbird. Key differences to look for here are the cormorant’s lack of white specks and hooked yellow bill (a loon’s bill is dark, straight and often compared to a dagger). If you see an unidentified loon-like bird standing upright on a dock or rock with its wings outstretched, that’s a classic cormorant move for drying its wings — something you wouldn’t see a loon do.
Still not sure what you’re looking at? Find more ID tips at AllAboutBirds.org. For real-time data on where common loons and common mergansers are currently being reported in Michigan, as well as to report your own bird sightings, visit eBird.org.
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