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Posted by Toe on 19:23:26 02/26/07
I say "probable" because I have seen many Common Loons but never a Red-throated before. I saw the bird as I walked back from the end of the jetty as it took-off from the area to the southwest of me and flew east, and then headed southeast towards Turkey Point. Even before putting optics on the bird, I noticed its color and size were something different. I had my scope in hand and quickly put it on the bird and noticed it was pale grey (with a slight hint of brown) above and white below, with no other distinquishing color features except for a bit of white that extended from the belly behind the wings into the rump. It had a long, drooping neck and short legs extending out the back. Its wingbeat was faster than that of the Common Loons I've seen, but somewhat slower than that of ducks. As I watched it flew past several cormorants and I was able to gauge its size pretty accurately. It was about half a foot smaller than a cormorant and much lighter-looking. I was hoping it would land on the water so I could see its bill, but it kept going southeast. The sun was pretty low so it may have been going to its favorite night spot.
The wind really died down this afternoon, and the forecast calls for calm waters in the next couple of days. Good time to scan the bay for anything out of the ordinary. There was nothing on the jetty itself except for a Willet, and the surrounding water only had Mergansers, Coots, and P-B Grebes.
Although I got to see the Hammond'a two weeks ago, my failed attempts at both Western Spindalis's, and the lack of finding any good birds in quite a while had me somewhat bummed-out. I think this bird more that made up for it. The Grimbergen Abbey Dubbel (in a Trappist glass of course) is tasting really good as I type this. See, it does pay to whine sometimes.
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