Red-throated Loons breed in remote coastal, tundra, and boreal habitats across Canada’s Arctic, limiting breeding surveys to isolated, local populations; a national population estimate is therefore not currently available (Barr et al. 2000). Results from the Christmas Bird Count (CBC), which monitors birds wintering along both coasts, suggest an increase in the North American population since 1970, despite some regional variation. Because the majority of the population breeds in Canada, continental CBC results can be used to reflect the Canadian status of the species. However, variable weather conditions may greatly limit the visibility of wintering Red-throated Loons off-shore when much of the population may be far from the coast, reducing the reliability of this survey for this species. Interestingly, the only other source of population trend information is the British Columbia Coastal Waterbird Survey, the results from which suggest a decline of over 80% in the local wintering Red-throated Loon population over the short-term. This localised decline is also reflected in the CBC results for British Columbia (Meehan et al. 2018). Declines were also observed in earlier studies in Alaska and across Europe (Barr et al. 2000). Taking all of this into consideration, the Canadian population is perhaps best assessed as having increased moderately, but with some regional variation. Given the survey's limitations for this species, this assessment is considered to be of low reliability. Future assessments of status may be improved when results from the Arctic Program for Regional and International Shorebird Monitoring (Arctic PRISM) become available, since Red-throated Loons are also being surveyed. The Red-throated Loon is currently at an acceptable level relative to its national population goal (see North America graph below).
Additional information on: British Columbia Coastal Waterbird Survey
Additional information on: Christmas Bird Count (CBC)
