A Waterdance of Red-throated Loons

Did you know that a dedicated group of volunteered is continuing to count migrating seabirds at Point Pinos? You can still drop by for this informal Seawatch. The Red-throated Loons continue to stream past the Point. One of five species of loons, the Red-throated Loon, Gavia stellata,  may undoubtedly win the title of “Most Adaptive” among this group of clumsy-footed birds.   Translation of the scientific name describes a starry (stellata) Sea Mew (Gavia), a reflection of the nonbreeding appearance of the Red-throated Loon.  

The Red-throated Loon's adaptability is well recognized through the diversity of aquatic ecosystems it inhabits.  During the winter months, these loons can be seen in west coast waters from the Aleutians to Baha, and eastern coasts from Nova Scotia to Florida.   Flexing their “Most Adaptive” title, Red-throated Loons move north in warmer weather to small, freshwater Arctic ponds to breed, nest and raise young.  Small ponds provide safety for the loons and their new offspring with a quick getaway.  The smallest of the loon species, the Red-throated Loon has dense bones and a long smooth body with legs set further back that allows for precise and effective hunting from both the air and water surface.  Look for them at the Seawatch and notice that they have more white on their face and neck than other loons. 

In breeding season, this loon displays a distinct red triangle throat patch and a plain gray head.  The reddish-brown triangular patch is put on display, standing out from the gray head above and a white front neck area below.  Red-throated Loons have an adaptive advantage blending with the marsh-like areas where they breed and forage for food.  

Text by Tina Lanquist and Carol Greenstreet

December 11 & 12

We're sorry! We are no longer in chronological order!

We also don't have narratives for Dec 11 & 12, but here are the checklists:

December 11: https://ebird.org/tripreport/443415

December 12: https://ebird.org/tripreport/443414

Dec 14

Weather: For the first morning in a long time (for me--yesterday's relief counters also had a calm start to their day!)--we did not have a hard wind from the northeast, though there was east in what little wind we had. Visibility was somewhat limited by fog at dawn, though it quickly burned off everywhere, except for the far outer line. The wind never picked up, though it got enough west in it during the last hours of the count to gift us the aromas of Pt. Pinos's roost rocks. It was overcast for most of the day, with the sun popping out for a bit during afternoon. At the outer buoy, the wind at dawn was from the NNE at ~12 knots. It dropped over the morning, then switched to NW at ~4 knots at 1400. At sunset the wind was WSW ~10 knots. The pressure remains high: at dawn it was 30.11; it rose to 30.19 at 1100, then fell back to 30.14 at count's end.

Birds: Today was bookended by a high-volume murre flight (>1000) during Loon Hour and a sunset procession of jaegers and tubenoses (high in diversity, but not in volume): 2 Poms, 1 Parasitic; 1 Pink-footed Shearwater, 1 Short-tailed Shearwater, 1 Black-vented Shearwater. Sunset hour was also highlighted by Catherine's delivery of some Dark N Stormy cookies: ginger, dark rum, lime zest, YUM.

Mark pointed out some "November-size" scoter flocks of a few dozen each; the day's tally was a respectable 543, plus 2 Black Scoters.

Alcid totals were 81 Rhinos, 2 Marbled Murrelets, 1574 Common Murres, and 120 Marbled Murrelets.

Loon numbers are a trickle right now (44 Red-throats and 77 Pacifics), though I suspect there will be a big flight when the weather turns next--which, unfortunately, will be after the standardized seawatch ends and I am back in Michigan. I am confident that our resident Seawatchers will be here to catch and count that flight, though, and I look forward to seeing their numbers (which I will note in our end-of-season report). I will be sorry to miss that push. We are still about 25,000 loons short of the low end of our expected season's total; with the high pressure and light winds, I think the low count is more a reflection of weather patterns and a delayed southward movement than it is a population plunge.

Yesterday, Tripp (my partner), my dear friend Hannah Toutonghi, and I went down to Big Sur for my day off. Over the course of our friendship, Hannah and I have consistently packed very full adventures into short periods of time--yesterday was no exception. After enjoying the Ancient Murrelet flight at Seawatch, we drove down to Partington Cove, making worthy stops for things like California Condors and breakfast burritos from Big Sur Deli. At Partington, we parted ways: Tripp went down to the cove, where he found his first-ever American Dipper (which was in the same field of view as Black Oystercatchers!); Hannah and I went up Tanbark and down Ewoldsen, where we found a bobcat, my first-ever Northern Pygmy-Owl (it was eating a junco about 5 feet off the trail!!), and 35 banana slugs.

Before catching the meteor shower from Coast Rd., we grabbed dinner with our friend Tyler in Big Sur; amazingly, our server, Kristy, recognized Hannah from listers and mentioned she herself was a new birder! We completely distracted her from all her other tables but invited her to Seawatch. Kristy came to Seawatch today, much to our delight, and some close fulmars put on a great show during her visit. It's always great to share seawatch joy wherever we go...

-Alison Vilag

eBird Checklist: https://ebird.org/tripreport/443416