ML615002950

Age

Not specified

Sex

Not specified

Observation details

Seen well and close, in La Paz County only. First spotted by David Vander Pluym. Later it was seen following fish swarms (as indicated by flocks of gulls overhead) and diving often. David was able to get a series of photographs. Small loon comparable in size to Aechmophorus grebes, with dainty silver bill, culmen appeared to be uncurved or nearly so. Upperparts silvery, underparts white. When relaxed, showed white all along the water line, but only on the rear flanks while active. Upperparts also showed distinct white spangling, indicating adult, but the head pattern looked more like a first-winter bird. The line between dark and light on the neck and head was straight, not jagged or crooked at the chin, but was blurred rather than sharply contrasting. White touched the bottom of the eye. David's photos seem to show white before the eye but I didn't see that in the field. There was a distinct, isolated dusky patch on the center of the throat.

Technical information

Model

Canon EOS 40D

ISO

400

Focal length

300 mm

Flash

Flash did not fire

f-stop

f/7.1

Shutter speed

1/800 sec

Dimensions

351 pixels x 286 pixels

Original file size

39.39 KB