Blake Mann's email mentioning that he saw 50 loons in the 20 minutes after
0730 today prompted this report. It was interesting for us to read about
how many loons he saw in such a short period, especially considering that
we saw our largest flight this spring this morning. In the same time
period we also saw about 50 loons. Our loon watch is about 130 km farther
east than Blake's location so, obviously, we weren't seeing the same birds.
Common Loons have been migrating over our place in north central Elgin
County for about 10 days. Most daily totals are between 20 and 40 birds
and usually occur over a 45 minute period between 0730 and 0815 with the
peak just before 0800. This morning's flight was the largest this year
with 81 loons between 0715 and 0815. The peak of the flight was about 0730
when we saw a large "flock" of 18 birds, our largest flock in 17 years of
watching. Our cumulative total for the year is 280 loons. April 24
[yesterday] is typically the peak of the migration over our place although
small numbers can be sighted through most of May.
Our deck is almost exactly mid way between the tip of Long Point on Lake
Erie and Kettle Point on Lake Huron, in north central Elgin County.
Dave Martin and Linda Wladarski
Harrietsville, ON
