ML299123361

Age

Not specified

Sex

Not specified

Observation details

I watched this bird for 10 minutes through the scope until it swam behind the island. Dark head and back of neck, white throat and front of neck, with a clear, sharp division between the two, quite unlike the jagged, diffuse border of a COLO. Chinstrap clearly visible when the bird turned to face me. Eye in the dark part of the head, with no white visible around it. Thin bill, slighter than a COLO. Dark black back. When diving, exhibited the behavior of kind of launching forward in an arc, unlike the typical less flamboyant dive of a COLO. Five minutes later it emerged from behind the island and was joined by a second loon identical in markings and behavior. After watching the pair for another 5 minutes, a THIRD loon appeared out of nowhere and the three of them swam together. All 3 looked identical. Given the unlikelihood of seeing 3 Pacific Loons together, I considered the possibility that I was just looking at 3 odd-looking Common Loons. I've seen many Common Loons on the lake this winter, but despite not having a Common Loon nearby for comparison, these birds just looked different from Common Loons in all the ways I noted. Viewing conditions were very good, and I got a much better look at these birds than previous sightings at the bridge. Shortly after, all 3 loons swam behind the island and disappeared from view. After a few minutes, 2 of them emerged from the south end of the island, affording even better views than I had previously. Poor photos added.

Technical information

Model

Canon EOS 80D

Lens

EF400mm f/5.6L USM +1.4x

ISO

2000

Focal length

560 mm

Flash

Flash did not fire

f-stop

f/8.0

Shutter speed

1/1250 sec

Dimensions

1049 pixels x 700 pixels

Original file size

246.11 KB