Andy and Tweeters,

The seven Pacific Loons that I observed on the Columbia River on 23 December
2001 could be sorted out as follows:

The two at MP 237.7, US 97, Chelan County were loafing on a mini
slack water area along the shore in a section that is a "free-flowing"
section downstream from The Wells Dam.
The single at MP 236.2, US 97, Chelan County was frequently diving well out
in
the river in a section that is "free flowing".
The flock of four at MP 216.6, US 97, Douglas County, were loafing on Lake
Entiat above Orondo.

The resevoirs behind the dams have at times very slackwater conditions
when the river flow is naturally low and/or when the drawdown at the dam is
low. At other times when the drawdown is rapid and/or the river flow is
high, I am thinking that the current on the resevoirs behind these dams
could be tremendous.Today, on my morning walk, the Columbia at Wenatchee
looked like
it was flowing very rapidly. Ducks sitting in the surface were rapidly
headed downstream.
Wenatchee is upriver from Rock Island Dam. Recently I watched a herd of deer
swimming
across the Columbia River at Wenatchee. When they reached the middle of the
river they
kept shifting direction. Finally, after 10 minutes of floundering around in
the middle of the river,
they came back to their starting point. Perhaps the current was too strong.

Looking at some of my past notes of Pacific Loons in eastern Washington.

Two juveniles on Lake Entiat seen actively diving in the resevoir just
behind the Rocky
Reach Dam on 19 and 28 October 2001.

One juvenile [same bird?] on the Columbia River at Wenatchee, sometimes
actively diving,
seen 7 times between 10 October 2001 and 8 December 2001.

One diving at Potholes Resevoir, Grant County, WA on 1 November 1997.

One very actively diving at Alkali lake, Grant County, WA on 21 October
1997.

Although I don't have a great number of sightings of this species for
eastern
Washington,
my observations support Pacific Loon habitat usage [diving] on both
resevoirs and "free-flowing" rivers.
With the possible exception of Alkali Lake, the use of deep water by Pacific
Loons could be a
common link here.

I used the term "free-flowing" in quotes because I am uncertain if a dam can
influence the water
level all the way to the next dam.

Good Birding,
Dave Beaudette
Wenatchee,WA
drtbrdr at earthlink.net

..
-----Original Message-----
From: Andy Stepniewski <steppie at nwinfo.net>
To: TWEETERS <tweeters at u.washington.edu>
Date: Thursday, December 27, 2001 7:05 AM
Subject: Pacific Loons in Eastern washington


>Tweeters,
>
>Dave Beaudette found a number of Pacific Loons along the Columbia this past
>week. Patrick Sullivan found these or other birds, also. I would like to
>know if these loons were on slackwater (in reservoirs) along the river, or
>in "flowing" stretches. I realize even slackwater reservoirs have some
>current, but is considerably slower than in free-flowing stretches of the
>river. I ask this is because I seem to chance upon Pacific Loons more
>frequently on flowing waters than not. I have never seen data to support
>this observation for eastern Washington other than my own, so wish to raise
>this question and raise awareness that Pacifics might favor a particular
>type of river conditions.
>
>It is well-known that Pacific Loons are strongly attracted to tidal rips in
>Puget Sound and Strait of Georgia waters. It might be shown this species
>favors the interior equivalent of a tidal rip while on the Columbia.
>
>Andy Stepniewski
>Wapato Wa
>steppie at nwinfo.net
>
>