Tweeters,

While on the subject of RED-THROATED LOONS in Deception Pass, I
decided to check loon totals from the Padilla Bay Christmas Count,
which includes Deception Pass. (I took part in this count myself
several times in the 1980s, usually covering the Deception Pass area.)

Average and high counts of loons for the 15-year period from the 86th
to the 100th CBC are as follows:

SPECIES AVERAGE HIGH COUNT

Red-throated Loon 257 882
Pacific Loon 79
432
Common Loon 67 128

The count of RED-THROATED LOONS exceeded 100 birds 9 out of 15 years.
Those of Pacific and Common Loons did so only twice.

In the 15-year period, Padilla Bay led Washington in Red-throated Loon
numbers 8 of the 15 years, often with numbers 10 times those of the
second highest count. Most of the time, most of these are in or near
Deception Pass.

I've always maintained that Christmas Bird Counts are a gold mine of
information, if only someone would take the trouble to analyze them
and elucidate the distributional patterns and trends. Someone should
write a book about the Washington State CBCs!!

Wayne C. Weber
Kamloops, BC
contopus at shaw.ca