ML77189301

Age

Not specified

Sex

Not specified

Observation details

Very rounded head with crown, nape, and dorsal neck all a bright, light, almost silvery gray that contrasted strongly with a dark back (mantle, rump, scapulars, and dorsal wings). White throat, chin, and cheek, with the white of the cheek shaped to form a semicircular patch with no white reaching as high as the eye (as in Red-throated Loon). The gray dorsal neck intersected he white ventral neck in an unbroken straight line (unlike Yellow-billed Loon) with no white narrow triangular "divit" of the ventral neck projecting back into the gray of the dorsal neck (as in Common Loon). A diffuse, dusky, chin strap which wider laterally than medially separated the chin from the ventral neck. The dagger-like bill was slimmer and smaller than that of Common Loon and light in color. The head and bill were held slightly above horizontal. This bird rolled onto its side twice revealing white ventral surfaces, but was too far away and the water too choppy to see details. This bird rose up and flapped its wings three times revealing white ventral surfaces to the wings and a black line running through the axillary region along an anterior to posterior axis. The bird's movements and choppiness of the water allowed me to see that the black of dorsal surfaces met the white of the ventral surfaces in the flank area in a straight line without a white convex arch of the ventral surfaces protruding into the dark of the dorsal surfaces (as in Arctic Loon). A very poor digiscoped picture taken with a hand-held camera is included below for documentation purposes. This bird was seen later in the afternoon by two other local birders I contacted - Mark and Joanie Hubinger.

Technical information

Model

Canon PowerShot SX720 HS

ISO

640

Focal length

26.3 mm

Flash

Flash did not fire, auto

f-stop

f/5.6

Shutter speed

1/125 sec

Dimensions

2192 pixels x 2072 pixels

Original file size

808.12 KB