Common loon migration Gavia immer
▶ Follow the common loon across the big globe
Press ▶ to play the year. Line: a simplified typical route, joining the main cluster of GBIF records in each month (adjusted for observer effort).
| Scientific name | Gavia immer |
|---|---|
| Adult weight | 5.46 kg (male), 4.5 kg (female) |
| IUCN status | Least concern |
| Records mapped | 3,089,776 (GBIF) |
| GPS / geolocator tracks | none with an open licence yet |
Facts from Wikidata Q190342 (CC0).
When does the common loon arrive in the UK?
A winter visitor in the records: numbers build from mid October and stay high until about late May.
Bars: this species’ share of all UK bird records in GBIF (CC0/CC BY), by month, scaled to the peak month. Based on 32,056 UK records. Weekly counts from the GBIF occurrence search API (country=GB). Dates are read from records, not from a survey, so treat them as a guide.
When do they arrive in and leave the UK? →
Migration in the data
3,089,776 GBIF records (CC0 and CC BY 4.0 licences only) are mapped here, in 1.41° grid cells, month by month.
In Europe and Africa, the centre of the records (adjusted for observer effort) is furthest north in August (about 67°N) and furthest south in December (about 55°N).
Month by month: centre of records in Europe and Africa
| Month | Centre (latitude) | South of the Equator |
|---|---|---|
| January | 57°N | 0% |
| February | 58°N | 0% |
| March | 58°N | 0% |
| April | 59°N | 0% |
| May | 61°N | 0% |
| June | 64°N | 0% |
| July | 66°N | 0% |
| August | 67°N | 0% |
| September | 65°N | 0% |
| October | 60°N | 0% |
| November | 57°N | 0% |
| December | 55°N | 0% |
Tracked birds
No openly licensed (CC0 / CC BY) tracking data package for this species was found in the Movebank Data Repository yet, so only records are shown.
About the common loon
The common loon or great northern diver is a large member of the loon, or diver, family of birds. Breeding adults have a plumage that includes a broad black head and neck with a greenish, purplish, or bluish sheen, blackish or blackish-grey upperparts, and pure white underparts except some black on the undertail coverts and vent. Non-breeding adults are brownish with a dark neck and head marked with dark grey-brown. …
From the Wikipedia article “Common loon” (revision 1379678186), CC BY-SA 4.0.
Sources
GBIF occurrence records, licence CC0 1.0 or CC BY 4.0 only, observations only (no specimens), filtered with: taxonKey=2481962&license=CC0_1_0&license=CC_BY_4_0&occurrenceStatus=PRESENT&hasGeospatialIssue=false&basisOfRecord=HUMAN_OBSERVATION&basisOfRecord=MACHINE_OBSERVATION&basisOfRecord=OBSERVATION. Monthly queries: Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec. GBIF.org (23 October 2026) occurrence data accessed via the GBIF API; a GBIF download DOI is still to be added. Contributing datasets.