Subject: [Tweeters] Arctic Loon s. of Pateros
Date: Jan 18 08:36:21 2007
From: pslott - VariedThrush at comcast.net


Tweeters,

Just a little more on the Arctic Loon seen Tuesday, south of Pateros. We
parked in a road closed by a large, rusted metal gate padlocked shut
about ? to ? mile south on Starr Road just south of Pateros. A group of
trees were between us and the Columbia River, so we stood on the south
corner of the drive and looked to the right, south, of the trees and to
the left of a wooden shed surrounded by stacks of wooden crates that had
some red on them. To the right of the wooden shed was a light greenish
out building with a metal roof and just beyond that a one-story white
house with red trim. The buildings were clustered together.

So, we were looking out on the Columbia between the trees and the wooden
shed when we saw a bird with a broad, white neck and breast. By itself,
it was difficult to identify, but as it turned to the side, you could
see the loon shaped head and body, but the head wasn?t right for Common
Loon. There was no hint of the COLO collar and the back appeared solidly
dark, black. The colors were highly contrasting, very dark above, very
white below on the entire bird. We called it black and white. There was
a large, very white flank patch, quite noticeable for its contrast with
the all black back. About this time, I realized there was a Common Loon
quite nearby and began to compare. The head top had the same shape, a
high forehead with a flat top to the head, but something was not right
about the bill. The bill didn?t have the COLO dagger shape, but was
thinner, smaller, lighter, more pointed, but dark. When Gina finally
said that it looked like an Arctic Loon, it began to click for me. I
pulled out the Sibley guide and the bird we were looking at was a
perfect match for the ARLO nonbreeding plumage. The Nat?l Geo guide was
the same. We stayed on the bird for at least a half hour, watching it
swim on the surface with up to four COLO. As the birds changed position,
it was always easy to pick out the Arctic Loon.

The birds were first seen near the rocky tip of a small cove on the far
side of the river and by the time we left they had moved slightly south
to the middle of the cove. The bird seemed quite content and settled.
Although there have been several one-day-wonders around, this bird
seemed to me to be content to stay in the area. It may move south of
Starr Road. I have a very poor quality picture of the bird. We hope
someone else may be able to get a better picture.

Patricia S. Lott
Seattle, WA
mail to: VariedThrush at comcast.net