Date: 04/20/2002

Number: 1

April 20, 2002
Astounding Common Loon Migration over Elgin/Oxford Counties
(south-western Ontario)
>
This morning between 7:30 and 9:30 a.m. there was an outstounding loon
migration over northeast Elgin County and southwest Oxford County. At our
loon watch (our back deck) near Harrietsville we counted 373 loons. About
10 km farther east at Ingersoll, Ross Snider counted 168 loons between
7:30 and 9:00 a.m. [and he has a much more restricted view of the sky than
we do]. The total loon migration at these two inland locations was 537
loons. All of us were pretty burnt out by 9:30 when we curtailed our watch
but the loon migration must have continued. At 11:30, when we were in
Centreville doing some business we noticed another flock of six.

At times the sky was literally dark with loons strung out in large, loose
groups. Ross had 38 loons in one 10 minute period ending at 7:50. We
started our watch at 7:20 but only saw two loons until 8:05 and were almost
ready to give up the watch as a slow day when they started pouring over in
flocks of 10 to 30 birds. In thirteen years of watching 20 mornings or so
each spring our highest number in one flock previously was 17 birds. This
morning we saw five groups that exceeded this previous high: 19 birds at
8:12, 34 birds at 8:32, 29 birds at 8:34, 17 birds at 8:44 and so on. From
8:30 to 8:35 a.m., a five minute stretch, we counted an astonishing 93 loons.

To put this in perspective a typical good day for us at our watch in spring
is 20 to 30 birds and a great day would be over 40 birds. Our highest ever
one day spring count was 60 birds. To give even more perspective our
highest ever count for the ENTIRE SPRING was 248 birds in 1996!!

Why so many loons today? The last day with a visible flight was April 12
when we had 29 birds. On April 13 there was heavy rain through the night
and into the morning, on April 14 intense fog, on April 15 fog again and on
April 16 south winds and heat. We speculate that the loons prefer
northerly winds to get better lift and reduce energy expenditure.

Another part of the puzzle that we haven't solved is that yesterday morning
(Apr 19) there was a good number of grounded loons around Oxford and
Middlesex Counties. James Holdsworth reported 38 birds at Pittock Lake in
Woodstock, Ross Snider reported 16 birds at Strathroy lagoons in Middlesex,
Linda and I saw 11 on Fanshawe Lake in London. How and when did they get
there? We had only seen 1 loon on our loon watch that morning.

Our question for the day is.... Do loons also migrate through the night?
Would this explain why loons are sometimes found in numbers in early
morning on inland lakes and end up in parking lots where the dark, wet
pavement looks like water [James stayed around long enough at Pittock on
April 19 to observe that all the 38 loons he was watching had taken off to
resume their flight by 11:00 a.m.]

Dave Martin, Linda Wladarski, Ross Snider with input from others
Harrietsville and Ingersoll, ON
dave.martin@odyssey.on.ca

Harrietsville, ON

Latitude: 42.6 Longitude: -81

Observed by: Dave
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