Birds of the Upper Cumberland Region: Species Accounts

Red-throated Loon (Gavia stellata)

Abundance:  Rare (12 records in 4 counties, 3 in Kentucky and 1 in Tennessee).

Status: Transient during late winter (1 record)/spring (1 record) and fall/early winter (10 records); photographs (see links below).

Regional High Count: 2 (the first two records below).

Information on Records: 

27 March 1992 (2--alternate) Center Hill Lake, DeKalb County, Tennessee (Barbara H. Stedman unpubl. data).

24/27 November 1996 (2/1) Green River Lake, Adair County, Kentucky (David L. Roemer; Busroe 1997a).

13-17 November 1997 (1--immature) Barren River Reservoir, Barren County, Kentucky (David L. Roemer; Busroe 1998a).

15 November 1997 (1) Green River Lake, Adair County, Kentucky (Mark Bennett; Busroe 1998a).

3-7 December 2000 (1--immature) Barren River Reservoir, Barren County, Kentucky (David L. Roemer photo; Busroe 2001a), photo (7 December 2000, David L. Roemer).

3 November 2001 (1) Green River Lake, Adair County, Kentucky (Roseanna M. Denton; Palmer-Ball 2003).

29 November 2001 &12-14 December 2001 (1--juvenile) Barren River Reservoir, Barren County, Kentucky (David L. Roemer photos [29 November 2001 and 14 December 2001]; Busroe 2002a), photo (29 December 2001, David L. Roemer).

7 November 2003 (1) Barren River Reservoir, Barren County, Kentucky (David L. Roemer; Palmer-Ball and McNeeley 2004a).

16/18 February 2007 (1/1) Barren River Reservoir, Barren County, Kentucky (David L. Roemer photo and unpubl. data/Brainard Palmer-Ball, Jr. unpubl. data).

11 December 2007 (1--juvenile) Barren River Reservoir, Barren/Allen counties, Kentucky (T. Aaron Hulsey; Palmer-Ball and McNeeley 2008b).

11 November 2008 (1) Rowena Rd., Lake Cumberland, Russell County, Kentucky (Roseanna M. Denton photo and unpubl. data).

17 November 2008 (1--juvenile) Plum Point, Green River Lake, Adair County, Kentucky (Roseanna M. Denton photo and unpubl. data).

Regional Extreme Dates: 

    Spring: 16 February 2007 (1; Barren County, Kentucky; David L. Roemer)-27 March 1992 (2; DeKalb County, Tennessee; Barbara H. Stedman).

    Fall: 3 November 2001 (1; Adair County, Kentucky; Roseanna M. Denton)-14 December 2001 (1; Barren County, Kentucky; David L. Roemer).

YardWatch Results 2003 and 2004: No registrations.

Habitat: Large, fairly deep lakes are apparently the preferred habitat of this scarce loon.

Remarks: The fall migration generally transpires during a fairly tight period of about a month. Reasons for the greater scarcity of this loon during the spring migration than during fall migration are unclear but possibly involve the age of the birds that land on Regional lakes during the latter season; each of the aged birds has been juvenile or immature.

Counties with Observations (boldfaced):

To see a map (Figure 1) displaying the data in the table above, click on the boldfaced word in this sentence.

Literature Cited