Birds of the Upper Cumberland Region: Species Accounts

Red-throated Loon (Gavia stellata)

Abundance:  Very Uncommon during late fall; Rare during early winter and late winter; Occasional during early spring; 16 records in 5 Regional counties, 3 in Kentucky and 2 in Tennessee (Map of UCR Distribution); data from the Regional bird-monitoring efforts are too few to determine a trend in the population migrating through the Region (see also Regional Bird-Monitoring Plan).

Status: Transient during late winter (1 record)/early spring (2 records) and late fall (10 records)/early winter (3 records); photographs (see links below).

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

Information on Records: 

27 March 1992 (2—alternate adults) Center Hill Lake, DeKalb County, Tennessee (Barbara H. Stedman).

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

13–17 November 1997 (1—juvenile) 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—juvenile) Barren River Reservoir, Barren County, Kentucky (David L. Roemer photo [7 December 2000]; Busroe 2001a).

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 photo [29 November 2001]; Busroe 2002a)

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/B. Lemon Palmer-Ball, Jr.).

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).

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

16 November 2011  (1—juvenile) Barren River Reservoir, Barren/Allen counties, Kentucky (David L. Roemer distant photo).

29 November 2011  (1—unknown age) Barren River Reservoir, Barren/Allen counties, Kentucky (David L. Roemer photo).

6 December 2011  (1—juvenile) Barren River Reservoir, Barren/Allen counties, Kentucky (David L. Roemer, David R. Brown).

6 April 2014 (1—basic) Lillydale Recreation Area, Dale Hollow Lake, Clay County, Tennessee (Edmund K. LeGrand, Stephen J. Stedman).

Regional Extreme Dates: 

    Spring: 16 February 2007 (Barren County, Kentucky; David L. Roemer)–6 April 2014 (Clay County, Tennessee; Edmund K. LeGrand, Stephen J. Stedman).

    Fall: 3 November 2001 (Adair County, Kentucky; Roseanna M. Denton)–14 December 2001 (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; most of the aged birds have been juveniles.

Check-lists of Birds for the Counties of the UCR

Check-lists of the birds of each county of the Upper Cumberland Region may be viewed by clicking on the links below. For each county, there are two check-lists: one list that shows the species that have been observed and where possible documented in the county within the larger list for the entire Region; and one list that includes only the species observed in the county with annotations for the date and observers for at least one sighting (the ultimate goal of the latter list will be to include annotations for the very first known Regional observation of each species in that county; this goal is probably one that will take many years to complete, if completion is even a possibility). To see if the species discussed in this species account has been observed in a county, click below or click on the link for the Map of UCR Distribution near the top of the page.

Check-lists of Birds for Some Public Access Birding Sites of the UCR

Check-lists of the birds of some public access birding sites within the Upper Cumberland Region may be viewed via the links below. To see if the species dealt with in this species account has been observed within any of these sites, click on the appropriate link below. See the pages for each county within the Gazetteer for links to additional smaller public access birding sites with check-lists in progress.

Literature Cited