The Pacific Loon is the most abundant loon in North America. In breeding plumage the sleek gray head and white-striped black neck are distinctive. Massive migration concentrations off Pacific headlands — sometimes hundreds of thousands in a single day at Monterey Bay — represent one of North America's great migration spectacles. It is more strictly marine in winter than the Common Loon.
Best time to see a Pacific Loon
The best time to see a Pacific Loon is January–June, when about 63% of U.S. sightings happen, based on 3,309 research-grade iNaturalist observations.
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Recent Pacific Loon sightings near you
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