Pacific Loon BC

Pacific Loon	Gavia pacifica (Lawrence)
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Here is our British Columbia database for Pacific Loon. It includes a selection of the most noteworthy observations. If you have additional records that would be important to include, please let us know.

Click HERE for our Pacific Loon summary species account.

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Noteworthy observations of Pacific Loon in British Columbia
Status: Breeding: Breeds in small numbers on lakes in a narrow strip south of the Yukon border (Teslin Plateau and Liard Basin). Non-breeding: Abundant migrant along the coast, locally common as a winter bird in coastal areas. Rare visitor to the central and southern interior of the province. Population Numbers: A rough guess at total BC breeding population is about 500 pairs. Most of the global population (1,000,000+ birds) of this species passes by the BC coast during spring and fall migration. Perhaps 20,000-50,000 individuals winter in BC. Population Trends: No solid data available. Population is probably relatively stable. Breeding habitat is not generally threatened by human activity.
Date	Sources	Location	Number	Notes
February 23, 2003	Charlesworth 2003a	Vernon Area	1	Okanagan Lake off Paddlewheel Park (Calvin Gehlen, Phil Gehlen)
February 22, 2003	Charlesworth 2003a	Kelowna	1	Maude Roxby Sanctuary (Chris Charlesworth)
August 24, 2002	Charlesworth 2002b	Kelowna area	1	Adult in alternate plumage on Okanagan Lake August 24 to September 4 (Hank VanderPol et al.).
May 3, 2002	Toochin 2002	Iona Island	100,000+	(Rick Toochin, Mitch Meredith)
April 30, 2002	Rawluk 2002	Fort St. James	8	Stuart Lake (Randy Rawluk)
December 2, 2001	Guy Monty	Comox area	1,100	Off Sandy Island (Guy Monty).
October 8, 2001	Jack Bowling	Eaglet Lake	31	(Cathy Antoniazzi, Jack Bowling, Helen Dunlop, Dan Dunlop)
May, 1998	Don Cecile	Amphitrite Point	see notes	Spring sea watches by Don Cecile tallied large numbers of northbound migrants: 7 hours of observation May 2 & 3: 11,021 birds 12-13 hours observation May 8-10: 16,485 birds
September 16, 1986	Campbell 1986	Charlie Lake	162	Adults
June 6, 1984	Campbell et al. 1990	Charlie Lake	67	-
November 21-22, 1983	Cannings et al. 1987	Okanagan Landing	3	With a Yellow-billed Loon (Phil Ranson, James Grant, Mary Collins).
April 14, 1972	Campbell et al. 1990	Active Pass	10,000	-
June 9, 1968	Cannings et al. 1987	Osoyoos Lake	1	Adult (R. Wayne Campbell, K.P. Morrison)
June 12, 1964	Cannings et al. 1987	Vernon area	1	Adult at Swan Lake (R.E. Luscher)

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