Date: 03/22/2006

Number: 1

After two days with zero loons heading northeast in their regular
springtime path over southeast Gainesville, today they all came at once.
I reached my cemetery perch (Pine Grove cemetery in southeast Gainesville,
good view of western sky) at 0735 and watched as the tail end of a group
(9+) of loons disappeared eastwards over the pines. Drats! Was I a little
late? But it was the first loons I have seen this spring. Three minutes
later a group of 8. AT 0742 the floodgates burst: a group of 13, a group
of 3 a minute later, at 0746 a huge string of 29 and right behind them a
group of 23 and then 6 more. Eleven more at 0750, then a straggling group
of 15 at 0758. I stayed until 805, then had to head off to work. That sums
to 117!!!!!! Smashing my all time records (what is the high count for Florida?). About 7-10 days
earlier than the usual peak here. About 90% were alternate
plumage. All were going ENE to NE, most passing directly overhead, though
I could not adequately scan north and south for more flocks because I was
so busy counting.

I am pretty sure that the loons we observe migrating in Gainesville, are
those that winter on the Gulf in southwestern Florida, head north in spring
to about Cedar Key, amass there, and then in at first light on auspicious
days head northeast to cross the peninsula where it is narrowest, which
takes them over Gainesville about an hour later (flying at 50-60
mph). They then continue north up the Atlantic coast to their breeding areas.

Gainesville, FL

Latitude: 29.6 Longitude: -82.3

Observed by:
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