Birds A bird that I have learned to love during my Alaskan travels is the common loon. How many times have my wife and I, lying awake at night in our small tent by some lake, listened to that tremolo that carries so far over the water’s surface. This year I was lucky enough to observe them in the breeding season, first during their incubation and then as freshly hatched chicks. They are only a few hours old in the pictures.