IBRC #57-B-11 - A

IDAHO BIRD RECORDS COMMITTEE
RARE BIRD REPORT FORM

SPECIES: Red-throated Loon
HOW MANY: 1 juvenile

REPORTER: Garrett MacDonald 10127 N. Fleetwood Spokane, WA 99208 (reported previous day as possible RTLO by Shirley Sturts)
REPORTER EMAIL: garrett.john.macdonald@gmail.com
OTHER OBSERVERS: Shirley Sturts and 2 others were there as well, though didn't get a good look and had to leave. I stayed later and had distant, though diagnostic views for approx. 30 mins after they left.

DATE REPORT PREPARED: 11-9-2011
DATE SIGHTING OCCURRED: 11-9-2011

LOCALITY OF OBSERVATION: south end of Cougar Bay, Lake Coeur d'Alene, ID
HABITAT: lake
CONDITIONS: I first found bird at 2PM and watched it off and on until 3PM as it occasionally dove and was underwater/hidden for several minutes at a time. Bird observed with my Leica Televid 77mm spotting scope at 60 zoom. Weather was benign; sunny, no wind, approx. 50 degrees F. Bird very distant the entire time.

DID YOU TAKE NOTES?: Yes, later the same day
DID YOU CONSULT FIELD GUIDE OR OTHER REFERENCES?: Yes, during the observation
WHAT GUIDE(S) OR REFERENCE(S) DID YOU CONSULT?: Sibley, An Identification Guide to Seabirds by Peter Harrison, National Geo field guide to birds

DESCRIPTION: a small loon, with a thin neck (much thinner than COLO) and thinner than PALO; small, thin bill that appeared upturned (bill held above horizontal entire time I viewed it); grayish neck (sides & front) lacking clean gray/white throat line of PALO and collar of COLO; neck/head mostly gray, but whitish on chin/face area and around eye, causing eye to stand out
BEHAVIOR: bird had head tucked when I got on it; several minutes later it began to slowly swim and intermittently dive, which is what it was doing for the majority of my hour-long observation

HOW AND WHEN DID YOU POSITIVELY IDENTIFY THE BIRD, AND WHAT CLINCHED THE IDENTIFICATION FOR YOU? I had a feeling it was RTLO when I first saw it without its head tucked - it was a small loon, with a small, thin neck and bill that it held above horizontal; once I got a prolonged look at the extensive grayish neck and head, though with some whitish on chin/face and a little around eye, I knew for sure
HOW DID YOU ELIMINATE SIMILAR SPECIES, AND WHAT WERE THEY? appeared smaller, with thinner neck than PALO and lacked clear gray/white throat demarcation that this species shows. much smaller than COLO (though none nearby for comparison) with small bill, also lacking collar that this species has, and having a generally grayish neck, which COLO doesn't show.

EXPERIENCE WITH THIS SPECIES (AND SIMILAR SPECIES): I have seen one RTLO off the WA coast a few years ago. I've seen hundreds of COLO's and tens of PALO's, including one in Blue Creek Bay, Lake CDA just a week before this sighting
GENERAL BIRDING EXPERIENCE: I've been birding since 1999 and would call myself an avid birder, having birded extensively throughout the western and central US as well as several countries in south and central america, very extensively in WA, ID, MT

WERE PHOTO(S), VIDEO, AND/OR AUDIO OBTAINED BY YOU?: None