Hello Connie and Tweets,

We would strongly suggest the loon you photographed in Westport being a winter-plumaged Red-throated Loon,which clearly shows the upturned bill and head posture and does show some white area along the flanks. The bird does not look heavy or crisp enough for a Arctic Loon,which in turn would be heavier in body and structure than a Pacific Loon. There are 2 photos of an Arctic Loon taken at Yaquina Bay in coastal Oregon in May 1988 on the back cover of Oregon Birds Volume 24 Issue #1. The photos of the Oregon bird clearly show the white flank"patch" that really stands out from even the farthest distance and not just the white on the flanks,which appear even in the bird you photographed. Your photos in some instances also show the rather dainty posture of a Red-throated Loon as it swims in the waves,especially noted in photo9. The white area along the neck extending possibly over the eye is fairly visible in your photos,which contrasts to the soft gray plumage of the back of the neck. Perhaps for further comments and opinions you may refer to Dennis Paulson. These are just are thoughts so perhaps you may contact us back if you have anymore theories.

Sincerely,

Ruth and Patrick Sullivan


----- Original Message -----
From: "Connie Sidles" <csidles at isomedia.com>
To: <tweeters at u.washington.edu>
Sent: Sunday, May 22, 2005 10:13 PM
Subject: [Tweeters] Arctic Loon?


> Hey tweets, My husband John and I drove down to Westport at 4 a.m. today to
> see what the wind might blow in. We had a terrific day birding the ocean,
> the shore and the woods.
>
> Our most intriguing spot was a possible Arctic Loon, which we saw around 9
> a.m. in the cove. The bird was molting from winter plumage and did not show
> much in the way of alternate plumage. However, it exhibited prominent white
> patches on the flanks. These white patches rode high above the waterline as
> the bird paddled toward the shore.
>
> We got great looks and tried to photograph the loon using a digital camera
> and shooting through our scope. We have posted our fuzzy and unsatisfactory
> pictures on John's website: http://faculty.washington.edu/~sidles/Loon/
>
> Please let us know what you think. I am fairly certain that we had an Arctic
> Loon, not only because of the white patches but because it jizzed like an
> Arctic. It gave an overall heavier appearance than a Pacific loon, and
> although it tilted its head up quite often, it did not look like it had an
> uptilted bill, if that makes any sense.
>
> Also seen:
> Glaucous Gull (at the marina)
> 2 Wandering Tattlers (also at the marina)
> Pacific Slope Flycatcher (several calling and catching bugs in Twin Harbors
> SP)
> tons of Brown Pelicans
> all 3 Cormorants
> lovely Purple Finches at Grayland - Connie, Seattle
>
> csidles at isomedia.com
>
> _______________________________________________
> Tweeters mailing list
> Tweeters at u.washington.edu
> http://mailman1.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters
>