April 29th, 2006. Monterey Harbor, Monterey, CA.
| Loon sp., Gavia sp.
| Excellent Arctic Loon images from Israel by Eyal Vanunu.
| More images of Arctic Loons from Israel by Rony Livne.
| Hector
Galbraith and Taj Schottland observed and digiscoped this interesting
loon in Monterey Harbor early on April 29th, whilst on a birding trip
to California.
Hector writes " The bird was not diving but was
preening and resting on the water surface. This, the close range, and
the flat water surface created ideal viewing conditions. Sky overcast
but no precipitation, no wind.
When first we saw the bird I was
immediately struck by its much smaller size than the common loons that
were also in the harbor (comparable to the closeby pelagic cormorants
and about 25% smaller than the common loons). In addition to its
smaller size the bird seemed much more “petite” than the common loons,
with a much smaller bill and less “chisel-like” bill. It had a clean
and regular margin between the dark head, nape, and neck, unlike the
convoluted neck line of common loon. It was obvious that the bird was
not a common loon, but was either a Pacific or an Arctic loon.
It
very quickly became obvious that this bird was unlike any of the
Pacific loons that I have seen on the Pacific coast or in Colorado.
About 50% of the time there was an obvious pale flank above the water
line extending from the breast to the vent area. Close to the vent area
this pale flank extended upward to expand into an obvious rounded white
flank patch that was visible at all times. Despite close scrutiny, at
no time could we detect any chinstrap or ventstrap.
Other
observations: my experience with Pacific loons has led me to think of
these birds as having short and “stubby” bills, relative to head size.
This was not the case with this bird, which had a rather dagger-like
longer bill (blue-grey), but not as long or chunky as common loon. The
dark coloration on the side of the neck was somewhat darker than that
on the crown and nape, giving the appearance of a dark vertical line
separating the white throat and neck from the dark-grey crown and nape
and back of neck.
The bird was still present when we left the area."
| Hector and Taj would be delighted to receive any feedback on the identification of this bird.
| Images taken using 20-60x Zeiss spotting scope
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