Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Roadside scenery is lovely everywhere in Door County.
LOONS
The shrill call of a loon dancing across placid lake waters: unforgettable. Yet these
gorgeous birds are threatened by, in order, shoreline development, pollution, and
even unknowing harassment by recreational lake users.
The Wisconsin counties of Vilas and Oneida have close to 2,000 loons. The
Turtle-FlambeauFlowagehasthelargestnumberofcommonloonnestingsitesfound
anywhere. The common loon, found on Wisconsin waters, is one of four species and
the only one outside of northern Canada and Alaska. It is their head that is most
striking—an obsidian green, with a narrow, pointed beak. The neck will be ringed in
a thick band of white. Usually black and white, with an angelic wingspan of about
five feet, its streamlined-but-oddly-configured body is decidedly not for landlub-
bing—loons often have to remain half-in, half-out of the water, resting their chests
on the shore.
