A common loon — though not common in the Verde Valley — surprised the birding community this week by lingering in the far lagoon of Dead Horse Ranch State Park for nine days as of March 12.

Many birders have made the pilgrimage to the lagoon to see the loon, which is in its striking breeding plumage, jet black with white speckles on its back.

The bird is traveling to Canada or one of the U.S.’s far northern states to impress a mate with its gorgeous feathers and seductive call. It stopped to rest at the state park, but it’s stayed far longer than expected. Loons are unusual in that both females and males develop breeding plumage.

Loons aren’t spotted in the Verde Valley every year, and when they are, they usually only briefly stop before moving on. Birders sighted a loon at Sedona Wetlands last spring that stayed for just a few hours.

Rich Armstrong, a trip leader for the Northern Arizona Audubon Society, speculated that the loon might have started its migration under stress and had inadequate fat reserves for the long journey. Finding a comfortable spot in Dead Horse State Park with plenty of fish, it may have decided to fortify itself with food before continuing north.

Armstrong said the lingering bird has given photographers a great opportunity because the lagoon at Dead Horse State Park is a comparatively small body of water to find a loon in Arizona. They are deep-water birds and tend to show up at larger lakes like Lake Pleasant outside Phoenix and Watson Lake in Prescott, where they usually hang out far from shore.

“This is the closest you can get to a loon in Arizona,” Armstrong said.

Loons are famous for their calls, heard on lakes in the far north during the breeding season, and one birder reported hearing Cottonwood’s loon call.

Armstrong said he’s known migrating birds, pumped up on hormones and heading to their breading grounds, to call while they’re stopped to rest en route. Armstrong thinks of it as the birds practicing.