Gavia
immer = Common
Loon/= Great Northern Diver/= big loon/= black-billed loon/= call-up-a-storm./= ember-goose/= greenhead/=
guine-a-duck/= imber diver/= ring-necked loon/= walloon.
Vergleich: Siehe: Aves: + Wasservögel:
[Jason-Aeric Huenecke]
Loons are usually monogamous and will seek another mate after the death
partner. Begin to breed between 4 - 7 years old; loons breed annually and will
renest when first nest be disturbed by weather or by predators. Their clutch
size is small, one to three eggs on a hollowed-out mound of dirt and plant
matter on water edge; incubation is 26 to 29 days, both birds sit on the nest.
The young are relatively mature and mobile from the moment of birth or
hatching; the loon can leave the nest within the day after hatching. They eat
fresh whole foods caught by their parents.
“…when the Loon is breeding,
it will dart down suddenly from the air, and alight securely in its nest. I
have never witnessed such a procedure, although I have closely watched, from
under cover, at least twenty pairs.
On such occasions I have seen the incubating bird pass over the dear
spot several times in succession, gradually rounding and descending so as at
last to alight obliquely on the water, which it always did at a considerable
distance from the nest, and did not approach it until after glancing around and
listening attentively, as if to assure itself that it was not watched, when it
would swim to the shore, and resume its office.” These loons are graceful
swimmers and divers, with red eyes, a black head, white body, and checkered
black and white mantle; they are 24 - 40 inches in length with a 4 - 5 foot
wingspan; they require a long distance in order to take off in flight. Their
feet are set back on their bodies, making the loon excellent swimmers and cause
difficulty in walking. However, they are expert divers with the ability to go
to depths of over 90 feet.
“Although its wings are rather small, its flight is strong and rapid, so
that it is enabled to traverse a large extent of country on wing. When
travelling, or even when only raised from its nest, it moves through the air
with all the swiftness of the other species of its tribe, generally passing
directly from one point to another, however distant it may be. Its long
transits are at times performed at so great an elevation that its form can
scarcely
be distinguished, and yet, even then, in calm weather, the noise of its
wings striking the air comes distinctly on your ear.”
“The geographic location of the common loon during the breeding season
is in forested areas surrounding freshwater, oligotrophic lakes in the northern
region of North America, Greenland, and Iceland. During the winter months, the
common loon migrates to coastal marine habitats in the southern portion of
North America. Migration in winter Sept. - Dec. and migration in summer between
March - June.
Migration groups can be composed of thousands of irregularly spaced
individuals, a small group of individuals, or a single individual.”
Primarily fish-eaters.
Ecotoxicity is an issue of great concern for the common loon. Acid rain,
industrial waste, and pollutants collect in freshwater lakes; the common loon
(Gavia immer) and bald eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus), both fish eaters are
therefore susceptible to poisons that affect neurochemistry such as, but not
limited to, mercury, methylmercury, and selenium poisoning.
Ancient peoples ate loons. The loons’ diver skin used for making cloth,
caps karpuses, a kind of cap or hood that protects the ears and neck), bags and
other items are well-known from the circumpolar area. Alaskan Inuits made
loon-skin parkas made entirely from the neck skin and feathers. “The great northern
diver has played a significant role in the traditional environmental knowledge
of the various people living within its range.
Of course its impact has been greater in North America, where the
species is common in the boreal and sub arctic areas. It has there been of
great importance from economic, symbolic and cognitive aspects.
However, its size, loud voice and its behaviour have also attracted the
people on the island and coastal societies of the northern Atlantic sea. It has
been a well-known bird both in Norse and Celtic traditions and it has been seen
as a weather prophet, but also its meat and skin, and the live bird have been
utilized too.”
“An interesting feature in this whole story is the fact that the great
northern diver seems also to have been caught alive in Greenland in former
times and used as a “watchdog”, i.e. tied with a rope around its legs or neck
and put somewhere high up (e.g. on a house-top or roof), “on guard”, so to
speak, as it made loud sounds when it saw someone approaching, and thus warned
the owner of coming visitors.”
Several Native American Indians have a Loon Medicine Ceremony. Loon
Medicine is an awakener and dream medicine.
“Divers have always played an important role in the folk ornithology of
people of the circumpolar area. Peasants, hunters, herdsmen and others
wandering in wetland areas and forests are well acquainted with their call,
which can be heard over long distances in the evenings. Sometimes fishermen at
sea have also encountered them. “Once a raven and a loon happened to meet, and
they agreed to tattoo each other. First the raven tattooed the loon, and when
it was done, the loon set about tattooing the raven. But the raven was very ill
pleased with its tattooing, and would not keep still, and again and again the
loon said: “If you won’t keep still, I will pour the soot I am using all over
you.” At last the loon lost patience, and poured all the soot over the raven,
and then ran out of the house. But just as the loon was on the point of
disappearing, the raven picked up the fire stones that lay in the house and
threw them at the loon. The fire stones struck the loon on the thighs, and it
sank down and could hardly walk. From that day all ravens are black and all
loons awkward on their feet”.
The mythology of loons focuses primarily on loons’ diving ability and
their calls or their distinctive black and white feather patterns. The story of
a miracle performed by a loon is one legend repeated in several ways.
The Copper Inuit tribe, in western-most Canada, tells of a loon who
restores the sight of a blind boy. In other tribes, a version tells of a shaman
who’s sight was cured by a loon. In one version, the shaman carried on the back
of the loon to the bottom of the lake several times curing his blindness. In gratitude,
the loon receives a necklace from the boy or shaman; this necklace, thrown over
the loon’s head and becomes the white pattern of feathers which we know as the
loon’s necklace.
A Canadian movie about the legend that explains the white band around
the black neck of the loon. Kelora, the main character, once a proud medicine
man, blind and neglected in his old age; however, his totem, the loon, remains
faithful to him and gives him back his sight. In gratitude Kelora places his
necklace of magic shells around the loon’s neck, where it remains to this day
in her ancestors.
The loon has a connection to the ancient world, a vigilant bird whose
hauntingly eerie voice pierces the veils between worlds. "During the
summer the loons' voice has been described as falsetto wails, weird yodeling,
maniacal quavering laughter, and at night as a tremulous ha-oo-oo; in flight as
a barking kwuk. Winters find this bird quiet.”
“The Indians in the Pacific Northwest travelled mainly by water, because
the forest was so thick it was difficult to travel by land. This story tells
how they were able to find their way back to shore.
One day, a little girl went deep into the forest. She walked until she
found a family of loons. She stopped and played with the loons. In fact, she stayed
for several days, becoming good friends with the loons.
They taught her many things. But, soon, she knew it was time to return
to her family, so she said good bye and returned to her village.
In time, this little girl grew to be a Mother and then Grandmother. One
day she was out in a canoe with her two Grandchildren. All of the sudden the
fog rolled in. They couldn't see the shore. They heard a splashing off in the
distance. The children thought it was a sea monster. But, the Grandmother new
it was something far worse. It was hunters from a tribe farther north. If they
captured them, they would take them as slaves. The children would never see
their family or village again.
The Grandmother told the children to get down in the canoe and be quiet.
The other canoe passed by them with out seeing them. The children were still
hiding in the bottom of the canoe. But, how would they find their way back to
the village? How would they avoid the hunters in the other canoe? The
Grandmother started to sing. This was a strange song. The Grandmother sung
often, and the children new all of her songs. They thought.
The children looked up. Where their Grandmother had been sitting, there
was a giant loon. It spread its wings and flew out of the canoe. It circled the
canoe and then flew off. The children watched it fly off into the fog. Soon,
the loon returned and circled again. When it left, this time, the children
followed it. It lead them safely back to their village. For you see, only the
loon has eyes that can see though the fog. When the Grandmother was a girl,
playing with the loons, they thought her a song. If she ever sang that song,
she would change into a loon forever. So when the Indians were canoeing in the
fog, they always listen for Grandmother loon to guide them back to shore.”
The common loon is the state bird of Minnesota, United States and the
provincial bird of Ontario, Canada.
Themes - Mentals
Apathy vs. Productivity
Appearing, disappearing quickly
Birds
Contamination, Filthy, Disgust, In Disrepair
Desire for Nature and Fresh Air
Distance and Space from Others
Esoteric, mysterious, trance-like
Exhausted, Waking with the Birds
Gaining a Deeper Understanding
Grief
Insects
Irritable
No Worries
Playfulness, Attractiveness, Sexuality
Spacey, Disconnected
Vigilance
Water/Flowing/Floating
Themes - Physicals
Burning
Dryness
Extremities: Weak, Trembling, Pain
Heat
Heaviness
Heightened Senses: Hearing, Smell, Vision
Repertory:
Mind: Acceptance
Affectionate
Ailments from - anger (suppressed)/anticipation/cares, worries over a
loved one/disappointment/embarrassment/quarrelling/
Alert
Ambition (increased)
Amorous
Anger - internalized/paralysis from anger/”As if paralyzed”/about past
events/sudden
Animal consciousness
Love for animals
Anticipation
Anxiety (after anger/from anticipation (an engagement)/of
conscience/about his family/from doubt about success)/Fear [of accidents (with a car)/of animals/being
attacked/of a city/of impending danger/
of electrical wires/something will happen/of being injured/insanity/of
misfortune/making mistakes/of poverty/of punishment/of reproaches]
Aversion - to those around him/to members of family/to friends/to
fuss/to certain places
Awkward
Benevolent
Biting
Must keep busy from restlessness
Full of cares (daily cares/about others/about relatives)
Censorious with dearest friends
Cheerful
Clairvoyance
Clarity of mind
Aversion to company - > alone/desires solitude
Desires company - of his family/yearning for it
Concentration - active/difficult (studying)
Want of self-confidence
Confident/confident (= centered, I am just present.)
Confusion - on attempting to concentrate the mind/”As if in a
dream”/loses his way in well-known streets
Content [with himself (and the world)/with others]
Cursing
Dancing
Death - presentiment of
Delusions. - is not
appreciated/seeing birds (blue heron/crow/eagles/loon/raven)/sees a boat, a
canoe/out of the body/cannot breathe (under water)/is criticized/time has come
to die/”As if drugged”/of emptiness/
Floating (in air/swimming in bed/swimming in air)/head (= black, rotted,
mass/disease will break out of head)/is held up high when sitting/is under a
powerful influence/sees insects/is lost/hearing noise/people are
beside him (touching his right
shoulder)/being possessed/being immersed in the sea/were tossing on a rough
sea/seeing herself/feels a snake crawling up the leg/snakes in and around
her/sounds muted/sees spiders/
under superhuman /is trapped/of water/is under water
Detached (from daily activity)/”As if detached”
Confused + disconcerted
Discouraged
Doubtful
Drinking more than she should
Dull - unable to think long
Too much sense of duty
Emotions - predominated by the intellect/suppressed
Energized feeling
Ennui
Excitement
Expansive
Forgetful - about business/daily things
Sensation of isolation
Gratitude
Grief
Haughty
During heat
Sensation of heaviness (morning)
Heedless
Desire to be held
High spirited
Homesick
Hopeful
Hurry
Ideas abundant - morning after restless sleep/at night
Impatience (with unhelpful people)
Impulsive
Inactivity
Indifferent
Industrious
Insects - disgust of
Insecure mental
Intolerant
Irrational
Irresolute (changeable)
Irritable - # patience/driving a car/to her family/towards
husband/suspicious/from trifles
Jesting
Lamenting
Laughing # weeping
Laziness
Alpha type (= leader)
Libertinism
Longing - sense of
Loss; sense of
Malicious
Mania
Mathematics - inability for calculating
Mental exertion - impossible
Misanthropy
Mischievous
Mistakes - in speaking (in spelling/in words/misplacing words)
Mood - changeable/repulsive
> Motion
>/< Music
Nature - loves it/yearning for
< Noise
Nonplussed (= surprised + confused)
Objective, reasonable
Observer - being an
Optimistic
Patient
Peace - yearning for
Pessimist
Pities herself
Playful
Praying
Prostration of mind - of thoughts < of work
Purposeful
Quarreling - aversion to/quarrelsome
Disposition - calm and quiet
Quiet; wants to be [desires repose and tranquillity (> bird
song)/>]
Rage
Reserved
Restless - > motion/sitting (while at work)/and sleepy
Sadness (about aging/children growing up)
Self-control lost
Selfless
Sensitive to - nature and natural objects/to noise (of birds)/noise (of
city/lawn mower/of refrigerator)
Sensitive - to presence of other people
Shrieking in anger
Sighing
Singing
< Sleepiness
Speech hasty
Staring thoughtless (morning)
Starting - easily/”As if electric”
Stranger - sensation as if one were a
Studying difficult
Succeeds never
Suicidal disposition
Suspicious
Sympathetic
Taciturn - sits, does not move
Tension, mental
Time - appears longer; passes too slowly
Time - sensation of timelessness;
Timidity
Trance
Tranquility (morning on waking)
Travelling - desire for
Telling the plain truth
Unreal - everything seems
Unreasonable
Verses (making)
Violent
Weeping (desire to weep/difficult/weeping with sobbing)
Wild feeling in head
Wildness
Wrong, everything seems
Yearning
Vertigo: Lying, must lie down;
< Motion of head
With Nausea
< Sitting/walking
Head: Congestion;
Constriction “As from a band”
Heat (like a dome)
Heaviness;
Pain - right # left/>
pressure/cutting/dull/piercing/pressing/wandering/ext. eyes/in forehead/in
occiput/in vertex/in temples (pulsation)
Tingling
Eye: Discharges - morning/yellow;
Discoloration - red sclera/redness accompanies cough;
Dry
Injected
Lachrimation
Pain - burning/during heat
Photophobia
Vision: Visual disturbances.
Ear: Inflamed;
Itching;
Lumps, hard, behind the ear;
Noises internal
Pain - comes and disappears/fleeting/piercing
“As if water in ear”
Hearing: Acute (awareness of birds sleeping)
Illusions (sounds remain longer)
Nose: Discharge, copious;
Heat internal
Itching;
Obstruction;
Smell acute;
Sneezing concussive.
Perspiration - at night with wakefulness/body parts touching each other,
from/single part,
Face: Discoloration, red;
Drawing (pulling) sensation
Eruption - acne
Flushed
Heat internal;
Itching;
Pain in jaw
Quivering lips;
Swelling glands;
Tingling.
Mouth: Cotton, sensation of;
Cracked
Dry
Numbness - (tip of) tongue,
Scratching;
Sores, gums;
Tingling;
Twitching.
Ulcers, canker sores
Teeth: Enamel deficient;
Pain in molars.
Throat: Constricted;
Dry;
Hawk, disposition to;
“As if a lump”
Mucus patches;
Pain (< cough/> warm drinks/< talking)
Scratchy;
Spasms;
Swallowing, desire to;
Swelling, glands;
Tickling.
Stomach: Anxiety in stomach;
Appetite - diminished/increased (morning on waking),
Distension;
Eructations;
Gagging, cough;
Gurgling;
Heaviness after eating;
“As if a lump”
Nausea + vertigo,
Pain - cramping < eating/sharp/sore/twisting;
Pulsation;
Rumbling;
THIRST
“As if about to vomit”
Abdomen: Distended;
“As if a lump in abdomen”
Pain - l./comes and disappears/sudden/cramping/dull/twisting/in lower
abdomen
Vibration.
Rectum: Constipation (two days);
Haemorrhoids;
Pain - aching during menses/cramping;
Urging stool, after a small amount has passed.
Stool: Dry/hard/loose
Kidneys: Pain in l. kidney.
Bladder: Urging to urinate;
Urination - < cough/interrupted/spurting stream.
Urine: Odor - strong/like horse’s urine
Female organs: Discharge, sensation of;
Menses - copious/+ lethargy/+ pain in mammae/+ by weeping
Menses - clotted/dark/burning/cramping (in uterus)/labia (l.),
Pain in uterus cramping
Male organs: Erection “As from a younger man”/excessive,
unusual for age;
Masturbation, disposition to,
Sexual desire increased.
Cough: + urination;
Choking;
Deep;
Exhausting;
Gagging;
Productive;
< during sleep
Tickling;
Violent.
Expectoration: Greenish;
Mucous, morning on rising;
Murky-colored;
During sleep
Yellowish.
Respiration: Arrested;
Breathing deep;
Difficult;
Irregular;
Sighing;
Snoring.
Chest: l.
Constriction;
Diaphragm, complaints of;
Formication
Heat, rising up;
Heaviness;
Hollow (Emptiness, sensation of);
Itching;
Pain -, comes and disappears/< cough
Palpitation < lying down
Pulsation, slow;
Tension.
Back: Pain - l./> lying on painful side/>
pressure/>
rubbing/cramping/spasm/dull/sharp/sore/stinging/stitching/electric-like/in
lumbar region/< motion (walking impossible)/radiating to lower
extremities/< stepping/
> warm bathing
Sacroiliac region, complaints of;
Stiffness in cervical region/> warm bathing
Neck: Pain, drawing,
Pain - in glands/sore/throbbing
pulsating,
Tension;
Extremities: l. sided
Weakness.
Ankles, complaints of;
Coldness, hands, toes;
Cracking in joints;
Cramps, calves spasmodic;
Eruptions - blisters/boils/upper limbs;
Formication;
Fullness;
Heat - lower limbs (feet/soles)/upper limbs;
Hips, complaints of;
Inflammation; feet, soles, plantar fasciitis;
Itching;
Knee, complaints of (Housemaid’s knee (fluid-filled swelling of the
bursa in front of the knee cap, often resulting from frequent kneeling, see
bursitis)
Numbness, upper limbs (curative);
Pain - achy/burning (in an old
scar)/lancinating/piercing/sharp/sore/comes and disappears quickly/gouty/joints
(hands)/tendons/< motion/radiating up back of leg/< wet weather
Quivering sensation in legs;
Restless at night in bed;
Shaking;
Stiffness;
Stretching out hand > cramp;
Swollen - feet/vein
Trembling
Twitching;
Vein, sensation of;
Walking, difficult;
Sleep: Morning early - 1 h./3 h./4 h./5 h./6 h.
spells of deep sleep
Falling asleep - after eating/difficult/while working;
Interrupted (awareness of birds, birdsong/sensation of heat)
Narcolepsy;
Position - changed frequently/sleeping upright;
Prolonged, day and night;
Refreshing;
Restless;
Short - catnaps;
Sleepiness, overpowering;
Sleepless - until 1 h./from noise/from activity of thoughts;
Dreams: Amorous/anger/domestic animals
(pets/chickens/dogs/fish/frog)/annoying/being attacked/beach/birds
(eagles)/car/strange cities/cleanliness/climbing ladders/clothes
underwear/computers/confused/cooking/
committing a crime/cruelty/dancing in a spiral/dead bodies/dirty
buildings/disoriented/drinking/erections/faeces/pagan festivals/flood in the house/food
(pizza/preparing)/freezing/old friends (relieved to have harmony
with)/frightful/groups (gangs)/guilt/helpless
feeling/humiliation/ice/insects/journeys//kicked by a
man/killing/kissed/laughing/has no legs (with sensation of loss)/making mistakes/motorcycles/music/playing
violin/
(overlooking) the ocean/about parties/parties/penis cut off/of
crowds/performing/taking photographs/pursued by a man/quarrels (with
father/with mother)/river/sad/school/people being separated/sexual/snakes
(biting)/
snow (storms)/storms (tornados/tsunamis)/talking with someone/teeth
(falling out/stained, yellow and brown)/performing in
theatre/thunderstorm/underground (cave)/in the underworld/urinating/vivid/
voice lost/water (high waves/swamp)/wedding/work/has done wrong
Chill: Periodical;
Shivering (Shaking).
Skin: Boils;
Dryness;
Eruptions - acne/circinate (ringworm like)/hard/herpetic/small
Formication;
Itching;
Pain, pricking like pine needles;
Urticaria.
Generals: l. sided
> cold air
Dry sensation, whole body;
Excess - of energy/lack of energy (see Weakness);
Food and drinks: Aversion: to smell of food/water; Desires: Alcoholic
drinks (beer/wine/blackberry honey wine/dandelion wine)/beetroot/sponge
cake/caramel/cereals/chocolate/coffee/sunflower seeds/warm drinks/
Water; >: warm drinks, small sips of water;
< heat/flushes of heat/heat radiating/wave of heat;
Heaviness
Pain - burning/migrating/piercing/> pressure/prickling
externally/stitching/wandering;
Pulsations;
< Talking
Trembling/vibration, fluttering, etc;
> Walking slowly
Wavelike sensations;
Weak;
< change of weather/wet
Yawning frequently.