ML380113861
Contributor
Date
Location
- Age
- Not specified
- Sex
- Not specified
Observation details
Winter plumage/juvenile. Viewed from small beach area just west of the boat launch. Excellent viewing conditions (neutral light, no shimmer). Loon-in-Q was compact bodied and puffy-naped, with a small and slender bill. Short-bodied with a cobra-like gestalt in water. Rested higher in the water (more of the extent of its body was visible compared to nearby COLO). Its bill seemed to always fall nicely perpendicular to the water’s edge (ie no upward tilt to bill angle, even though the gestalt appeared cobra-ish). Dark head with just a hint of pale areas to the cheek at my viewing distance (a unique signature in comparison to the other loons present). Sliver of a chinstrap. Perfectly dilneated black and white from chin to breast (sans black neck collar/dark kink as in COLO). Direct comparison with COLO made the bird stand out even more. Different in all ways, especially by gestalt. Study took a few minutes of viewing to be sure, but all salient and gestalt field marks showed well. Additional support was availed when the bird drifted close to some COLO. I managed to take some digiscope photos which are not supporting evidence per se (very low quality) but somehow they still reveal a nice dose of PALO vibes in the gestalt of the bird! 4th Renfrew County record; 27 November 2016 (Ruddy), 18 November 2018 (Di Labio), 3 November 2019 (Gawn) and today’s bird being 16 October 2021 (Ruddy). 15 or so records all-time in eastern Ontario.
Technical information
- Dimensions
- 788 pixels x 802 pixels
- Original file size
- 98.84 KB