Your description of the bird you studied at Priest Rapids on February 4
convinces me that Phil Bartley, Tony Greager, Ruth Fischer and I studied
the same bird there the next day. You wrote:

.. There was an obvious long white line or patch running along the flanks,
though it didn't seem to flare obviously towards the rear.

We concluded that the bird we were observing was not an ARCTIC LOON,
based partially on the fact that a winter plumaged ARCTIC LOON should
show more extensive white on the flanks which should come up over the
sides of the rump according the all the literature I've read.


Dennis K Rockwell, Kennewick, Washington denniskrockwell at juno.com

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