ML75114901
Contributor
Date
Location
- Age
- Not specified
- Sex
- Not specified
Media notes
Again, the picture is not good [you may want to zoom in on the picture to get a better look] (As I was pretty much looking directly into the sun), so its hard to get the coloration from the bird. Despite that, it only has identifying marks of a RT Loon. You can just make out the white on the face and neck, as well as the overall gray appearance. Additionally, its head shape (sloping rather than with a bump on the forehead) and posture (head closer to body tilted slightly upward) indicates its likely to be a RT over a Common. Personally, I think the giveaway identifying mark is the width and length of the bill. A juvenile Common with a short bill will still have a thick bill which this bird distinctively does not. Its bill is also slightly upturned which points to a RT. Combined with the fact that this bird was comparable in size to a ring-billed gull (a little bit larger), I think its reasonable to call this a RT.
Observation details
Small loon, very gray but lighter on the face. Always maintained a low profile and tilted head up; very thin, short bill. Can provide photo, but again, its not giving me the option to upload right now. I technically identified this from the east side of the lake, but spotted it first from the west. I also think it’s important to note that I’m labeling this as a RT to draw attention to this bird. I’m confident in what I saw (they’re not incredibly rare in Chicago, so I’m pretty familiar with them) but if the picture is not convincing I’ll change the sighting. I figure there’s more of a chance people will try to find it if it’s reported as RT as opposed to loon species.
Technical information
- Model
- NIKON D3000
- ISO
- 200
- Focal length
- 400 mm
- Flash
- Flash did not fire
- f-stop
- f/25.0
- Shutter speed
- 1/60 sec
- Dimensions
- 1096 pixels x 766 pixels
- Original file size
- 112.22 KB