Dear Carol and Tweeters,

Thanks for an interesting post about the Red-throated
Loons at Deception Pass.

Howard Armstrong and I went there on Monday to try for
the possible Arctic Loon that I had seen there on
Saturday. Although we could not relocate that loon, we
did see over 600 Red-throated Loons. When we got there
around noon, these loons were all resting in slack
water off to the west. As the tide began to turn and
current started running through the pass, the flock
moved into the channel, performing the spectacle that
Carol described. Our observation post was atop Rosario
Head, which gave us fairly distant views, but proably
a better vantage for counting the flock.

We also saw a Spotted Sandpiper, a Black Turnstone, a
couple of Black Oystercatchers, and at least two
Pacific Loons there.





--- Carol Riddell <cariddell at earthlink.net> schrieb:

> Hi Tweets,
>
> I share this with you on the off chance that many of
> you might not be
> aware of the flocking and feeding phenomenon of
> Red-throated Loons at
> Deception Pass. Their habit of congregating and
> feeding in tidal
> currents is noted in "Birds of Washington," (Wahl,
> et al.) at page
> 74. It notes a high of 2000 birds in February 2000.
> Yesterday was a
> great day to be at Deception Pass, with the
> exceptionally clear
> weather and strong currents running with the spring
> tides that
> coincide with a full moon. We went to the Cranberry
> Lake parking lot
> in the state park about an hour into the ebb
> current. There were
> approximately 250 Red-throated Loons with a
> scattering of other
> species. They fly low, towards the Pass, touch down
> on the water and
> then float and dive in the current until they near
> Deception Island.
> They then would fly back into the Pass for another
> current ride.
> Apparently this feeding activity goes on until they
> leave in the
> spring for breeding. There is the possibility of
> seeing this
> activity in April after the loons have molted in to
> their breeding
> plumage. What a sight that would be!
>
> We watched the loons from the bluff at the east end
> of the parking
> lot. Unfortunately, most of them were riding the
> current closer to
> the east side of the pass. Walking out from Bowman
> Bay would have
> put us closer to the birds. However, the weekend
> before they were
> closer to the west side. This could be accounted
> for by changes in
> the path of the ebb current between neap and spring
> tides. With a
> scope the views were more than acceptable. They
> were downright
> thrilling. Deception Pass current tables can be
> found in most, if
> not all, Washington tide guides. On line, you can
> find Deception
> Pass current tables at
> http://www.dairiki.org/tides/. Click on the
> "Other Current Stations" button and then click on
> Deception Pass.
> You can create a table for whatever day you wish.
> We arrived at the
> state park about an hour after slack before ebb and
> had a pretty good
> show for another hour.
>
> If you have never seen so many Red-throated Loons in
> one place, treat
> yourself to a Deception Pass outing.
>
> Good birding,
>
> Carol Riddell
> Edmonds
> _______________________________________________
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> Tweeters at u.washington.edu
>
http://mailman1.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters
>



Yours truly,

Gary Bletsch

near Lyman (Skagit County), Washington

garybletsch at yahoo.com



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