October 22nd, 2005. South Quabbin (Winsor Dam), MA.
| Uid Loon Gavia sp.
| Latest update
- So far I've received five completely independent opinions from
experienced local birders on the identity of this loon. There is still a suggestion that the bird could be a Pacific Loon Gavia pacifica.
However, each person has also mentioned that a conclusive
identification probably cannot be reached based on the images alone. An
extremely experienced birder in the region has suggested that the
features are a better match for a small Common Loon.
Since the bird has not been seen again, reaching a firm conclusion
based on these images alone may prove challenging to say the least.
Opinions
are always welcome.
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10/22 - I came across an interesting, distant, smallish loon hanging out with a non-breeding adult Common Loon.
It was seen from Winsor Dam fairly late in the day (16:00hrs -
16:50hrs), after I made a quick scan of the rough water. The wind was
raw coming from the NNE, and I saw just four birds. Three were distant
loons, two of which were together. The other bird was a sea duck.
As the duck was the closest to me, I concentrated on that one for a
little while. It turned out to be a female Surf Scoter, and I then looked at the loons.
The two loons foraging together over the far side of the reservoir were
clearly different in size. I estimated the smaller bird to be about
half of the body bulk of the larger one. I was already certain that the
larger bird was a Common Loon
in non-breeding plumage. The smaller bird however, was more puzzling.
Not only was it physically smaller but the head and bill proportions
were quite different, with a smaller, finer bill being held perfectly
horizontally, and the head and hind neck looked well rounded. The
accompanying Common Loon had a
huge dagger like bill, held very slightly raised, especially noticeable
since the two birds were alongside each other for the whole time.
At some point during the observation, I began to consider Pacific Loon
quite seriously. Being familiar with all the loons, including Arctic
(from Europe), I was quite certain that the bird wasn’t a Red-throated.
It was too short necked, and actually rather
stubby necked, with no hint of an upturned bill. In fact, the whole
head and bill shape, and general impression just seemed at odds with
Red-throated Loon. It also showed a rather reduced amount of white on
the cheeks caused by darkening surrounding the eye and what appeared to
be dusky markings at the rear of the cheeks.
The more I looked, the better the bird looked for Pacific Loon.
Distance, deteriorating weather and time (the park now closes at
17:30hrs) prevented me from nailing a conclusive identification.
However, I thought that the bird had too many size and shape
differences to be a ‘runt’ Common. This would have been much more
difficult to discern had the two birds not been alongside each other
for all of the observation.
For what it’s worth, I did grab a few digital record shots. The two
birds are seen together in each shot. The smaller, less bulky
appearance is not as evident in these images as it was in the field
when it was very obvious. However, the images do show some interesting
differences between the two loons. Feedback from experienced birders is
more than welcome.
| | Taken using Canon Powershot A-95 through Swarovski telescope. |
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