Bill Applegate or any other knowledgeable Tweeters,

Last year you posted this email. Is this a sight limited to January or
would it still be possible to see this phenomenon at Deception Pass in
mid to late February?

Ileen Weber
Seattle, WA

>Subject: Loons
>Sent: 1/10/98 10:19 PM
>Received: 1/11/98 6:59 AM
>From: William R. Applegate, applgate at whidbey.net
>To: Tweeters, tweeters at u.washington.edu
>
>Yesterday (9 Jan 98) I saw a remarkable phenomenon!
> There is a pass between the northern end of Whidbey Island and Fidalgo
>Island called Deception Pass. The tidal current flows through this pass
>at a very high rate of speed. (Yesterday the peak ebb current was >7
>knots.) On the ebb tide loons from Puget Sound fly into the Pass, land on
>the water, and dive for fish as they are being swept into the Sound. They
>do not seem to have to dive very long before they come up with a fish
>which they bring to the surface to eat. As they are feeding the current
>sweeps them west out of sight. Then more loons (presumably some are the
>same birds seen earlier) fly into the Pass and the process is repeated.
>I had been told about this phenomenon by several people and yesterday I
>decided to see it for myself. I found Keith and Jan Wiggers at the
>viewing site. We arrived shortly after noon and together we saw hundreds,
>perhaps a thousand, loons over the next hour and a half. The loons which
>we could identify were all red-throated and pacific loons. With the loons
>in the swift current were double-crested and pelagic cormorants,
>red-breasted mergansers and an occasional pigeon guillemot or common
>murre. On the periphery, where the current was less intense, were
>red-necked and horned grebes, marbled murrelets, and, of course, lots of
>gulls.
>On the Padilla Bay CBC this year they counted about 940 loons at this
>site. That number may be correct, but since at least some of the loons
>seem to continually recycle it seems hard to know which birds one has
>already counted. In spite of that uncertainty, this is a true spectacle
>of nature!
>To get to the best viewing site go in the Deception Pass Park entrance on
>north Whidbey, drive to the West Beach parking area, and park at the far
>north end of the lot. Then walk about 75 yards north from the parking lot
>to the viewing point. Deception Pass is fairly wide at this point so a
>spotting scope is advisable. Check a tide table that shows Deception Pass
>currents and look for the ebb current during daylight hours. After noon
>the sun will be at your back making the viewing quite good.
>Bill Applegate
>applgate at whidbey.net
>Oak Harbor, WA
>