A photograph of a paper cutout of a photo of a Yellow-billed Loon swimming on a pond.
“Common Loon” swimming on a freshwater pond

Yellow-billed Loon

YBLO
  • Scientific: Gavia adamsii
  • Spanish: Colimbo de Adams
  • French: Plongeon à bec blanc
  • Family: Loons
  • Bird Code: YBLO

If there is a 3° C increase in temperature due to unmitigated climate change

Predicted percentage of habitat lost

52%
Summer range lost
37%
Winter range lost

Climate and other threats imore info

Habitat

Nests on deep tundra lakes and ponds. During winter months mostly found on saltwater bodies including the ocean, inlets and bays.

Range

Breeds in Canadian Arctic and northern Alaska. In winter found along coastal British Columbia and southwestern Alaska.

Silhouette of Grace's Warbler
Did you know?

The Yellow-billed Loon is one of the rarest breeding birds in the mainland U.S., with some of its breeding grounds at risk due to permafrost thawing. As lakes fill with water and then drain due to erosion channels, significant lakes in Bering Land Bridge National Preserve have recently dried up, threatening the loons’ habitat. Long-term surveys and satellite imagery reveal that these changes are significantly affecting the loons’ nesting areas.