Subject: Fw: NICOLA LAKE (B.C.) LOON TRIFECTA
Date: Oct 20 09:02:42 2002
From: Wayne C. Weber - contopus at shaw.ca


Birders,

The Nicola Lake rest area, on Highway 5A near the west end of Nicola
Lake (16 km east of Merritt or 13 km east of Exit 290 on Highway 5) is
known as a good spot to observe waterbirds. Late yesterday afternoon,
I saw 3 species of loons at this spot-- COMMON, PACIFIC, and
RED-THROATED.

Shortly after I stopped, a COMMON LOON and PACIFIC LOON appeared
side-by-side, and dived and surfaced several times together, before
the PACIFIC moved off to the east. The Pacific was considerably
smaller than the Common Loon, with a thinner bill. It was in winter
plumage, with a very rounded head, even dark-gray colour on the crown
and nape, and dark "chinstrap" contrasting with a whiter throat.

A few minutes later, a RED-THROATED LOON popped up not far from where
the Pacific Loon had been. It was an adult partly molted into winter
plumage, but with the red throat patch still visible. The small size,
upturned bill (carried well above the horizontal) and even gray back
were noted. This bird stayed close to the rest area until I left.

Both the PACIFIC LOON and RED-THROATED LOON were studied at close
range (distance about 60 to 70 metres) through a spotting scope at
magnification of up to 45X.

The PACIFIC LOON appears to be a rare but regular migrant through the
Nicola Valley, as it is elsewhere in the southern BC interior. I have
several records on Nicola and Douglas Lakes for both spring and fall.
The RED-THROATED, on the other hand, is much rarer. This was only my
second record for the Nicola Valley, and my third for the BC Interior.
Andy Raniseth and I saw a RED-THROATED on Nicola Lake on November 7,
1999 (the same day we found the famous/infamous WHOOPER SWANS on Mamit
Lake).

Incidentally, there were also 5 species of grebes on Nicola Lake: 4
of them off the rest area (WESTERN, RED-NECKED, HORNED, and EARED
GREBES) plus 5 PIED-BILLED GREBES in a bay about 2 km farther west. I
came close to a grand slam of North American loons and grebes-- only
missed YELLOW-BILLED LOON and CLARK'S GREBES (not counting LEAST
GREBE).

This is the second time I have seen 3 species of loons at once on an
inland BC lake. In late May 1993, after a storm, I saw 3 species of
loons (2 COMMON, a PACIFIC, and a YELLOW-BILLED, all in breeding
plumage) on tiny Kawkawa Lake near Hope. I am still hoping for a loon
grand slam one of these days!

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