October 19 Meet and Greet @ 6:30 p.m. Program @ 7:00 p.m.
Speaker: Dr. Andrew Kratter, Ornithology Division, Florida Museum of Natural History

Common Loons are an iconic bird in much of North America. In their stunning breeding plumage, they breed across the northern US and across Canada.

Their wild yodelling calls are a hallmark of mist shrouded northern lakes, and they are the national bird of Canada, appearing of their $1 coins (better known as "Loonies"). In their drabber winter plumage, which we in Northeast Florida get to see, they undertake a great migration to winter on the Pacific, Atlantic, and Gulf of Mexico coasts.

They are a well known migrant at coastal observation points. So why does Dr. Kratter pursue his studies of Common Loons in Gainesville, smack-dab in the middle of Florida, far from either coast and a long way from mist-shrouded northern lakes? In the mid-1990s it was discovered that a few Common Loons could be seen flying over Gainesville in late March and early February. Dr. Kratter thought it would be fun to document this migration, and discovered that this migration is much more extensive than he could ever had imagined and likely involves a large percentage of the population wintering in peninsular Florida. He will give details of this discovery and explain the pattern, extent, and timing of this unlikely migration route.