Habitat
Breeds on freshwater lakes on arctic and subarctic tundra and taiga with varying topography and in both treeless and forested areas (Bergman and Derksen 1977). At the Y-K Delta nested in wet marsh tundra and heath tundra with lacustrine ponds of 1.5 ha and 1.5 m depth. All ponds used contained ninespine stickleback with no other fish. Vegetation was dominated by bur-reed, marsh five-finger, sedges, and mare’s tail; submergent vegetation primarily pondweeds (Petersen 1989). Other wetland types used include basin complex lakes, beaded streams, shallow ponds, deep lakes with abrupt shores, sublittoral shelves, and coastal wetlands (Russell 2002).
References
Bergman, R. D. and D. V. Derksen. 1977. Observations on Arctic and Red-throated loons at Storkersen Point, Alaska, Arctic 30:41-51.
Petersen, M. R. 1989. Nesting biology of Pacific Loons, Gavia pacifica, on the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, Alaska. Canadian Field-Naturalist 103:265-269.
Russell, R. W. 2002. Pacific Loon (Gavia pacifica) and Arctic Loon (Gavia arctica). In The Birds of North America, No. 657 (A. Poole and F. Gill, Eds.). Philadelphia: The Academy of Natural Sciences; Washington, D.C.: The American Ornithologists’ Union.
