Swimming birds

Loon

Although they all look somewhat similar, not all swimming birds even belong to the same family. Swans, geese and ducks (dabbling and diving) belong to Family Anatidae, but loons, grebes, coots, and gulls are all from other families. Yet, somewhat similar environments have produced somewhat similar birds.

  loons  wistfully sounding residents of the Lake

  grebes  small, easily missed diver with lobed toes

  swans  elegant, but only migratory visitors

  geese  beautiful, but obnoxious

  mallards, a dabbling duck  a most common dabbler

  other dabbling ducks  surface feeders

  diving ducks  fish in the depths

  coots  small, lobed-toed swimmers

  gulls  aggressive and garrulous