Coastal Resource Information System

Loons and Grebes

The highest numbers of loons and grebes occur on marine waters in winter and during the spring and autumn migrations, while low numbers occur in the summer. These birds are highly vulnerable to oil (King and Sanger 1979). Contact with oil results in high mortality through fouling of plumage and likely through ingestion of oil. Because these birds do not breed in the study area, breeding will not be adversely affected by oil cleanup. Cleanup operations during the winter months may disturb feeding aggregations of these birds.

Loon and Grebe species present in Coastal BC:

• Pacific Loon
• Red-necked Grebe
• Red-throated Loon
• Western Grebe

Detailed species reports from the British Columbia Species and Ecosystem Explorer are available by following the above links.

These species are also breifly described below in exerpts from: The Birds of British Columbia, Vol. 2, Nonpasserines: Diurnal Birds of Prey through Woodpeckers by R. Wayne Campbell, Neil K. Dawe, Ian McTaggart-Cowan, John M. Cooper, Gary W. Kaiser and Michael C.E. McNall.

Red-throated Loon

The Red-throated Loon is widely distributed along the coast and scattered throughout the interior. It prefers more inshore and protected shallower waters, including bays, inlets, harbours, lagoons and estuaries. It is rarely found in flocks larger than 50 birds. They breed from Nitinat Lake on southern Vancouver Island north along the coast to Kitsault and the Queen Charlotte Islands and in the vicinity of Chilkat Pass. On the coast, breeding areas are small and near freshwater lakes, often surrounded by trees. They usually are in close proximity to the sea where the loon feeds.

Pacific Loon

The Pacific Loon is widely distributed along the coast. It is the most gregarious of the loons and may be found in flocks of several thousand individuals in protected southern coastal areas. It prefers deeper water than other loons, but also frequents coastal habitats such as bays, estuaries, surge narrows, channels, coves, and less commonly inlets and lagoons. Concentrations of several thousand birds are found in spring in areas where pacific herring spawn and other small fish congregate in shallow waters along the coast.

Western Grebe

This grebe is the most gregarious of the grebes. It is often found locally, in large flocks that are either compact or strung out in a long line. On the coast, sheltered salt and brackish waters are preferred, including bays, inlets, harbours, channels, lagoons and estuaries. In early spring large numbers have been found in areas of pacific herring spawn. In summer large flocks of hundreds of birds are found along the south coast throughout Barkley Sound.

Red-necked Grebe

The Red-necked Grebe is widely distributed throughout the province. It is gregarious but rarely associates with other species of grebes. Along the coast it can be found in bays, inlets, estuaries and narrows. Large flocks are common in the autumn and winter along the coast. Main coastal wintering areas include the Strait of Georgia and sheltered parts of Juan de Fuca Strait. (Photo credit, Andre Breault, Canadian Wildlife Service)