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Posted by Robin Diaz on 13:49:45 12/12/12
Today at 1:10 PM I scanned offshore Key Biscayne in hopes of a Razorbill. Instead, I found what seems to be a Non-Common Loon. I see Common Loons daily offshore, either in the water or flying and this bird immediately caught my attention as something different.
It didn't have the hefty look of a Common Loon and sharp black-and-white contrasts on the bird stood out. The head was rounded and not blocky like Common Loon and the bill looked smaller than Common Loon. As it seemed to rest, the bird held its bill parallel to the water. The black-and-white contrast along the side of the neck was sharp, delineated and down the middle. The white on the front of the bird was stark white and the back, head and back of the neck looked almost solid black. [I tried to make it into a Red-throated Loon but it wasn't delicate enough, the black and white on the neck was half-and-half and the back wasn't speckled.]
The bird was within scope view at 40-50X but just too far to see a definite "chin strap." The water was fairly choppy and although it sat for about 7-8 minutes, the waves sometimes blocked my view. After sitting a while, it started snorkeling, then started actively diving and I wasn't able to relocate it. A photo with my little point-n-shoot shows a bright white blob on the water.
I'd like to call it a Pacific Loon but will leave it as probable "Non-Common Loon."
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