IBRC #57-B-11 - C
IDAHO BIRD RECORDS COMMITTEE
RARE BIRD REPORT FORM
SPECIES:
Red-throated Loon
HOW MANY:
1 immature
REPORTER:
Shirley Sturts and Janet Callen
REPORTER EMAIL:
shirley.sturts@gmail.com
Jgoldfinch@roadrunner.com
OTHER OBSERVERS:
Roland Craft – on the 8th
Jan Severtson - on
the 9th
DATE REPORT PREPARED:
November 19, 2011
DATE SIGHTING OCCURRED:
November 8 and 9, 2011
LOCALITY OF OBSERVATION:
Cougar Bay, Coeur d'Alene Lake, Kootenai County
HABITAT:
open water
CONDITIONS:
Cloudy and clear on the 8th - sunny on the 9th –
about 1 hour each day
It was about 50 feet off shore.
Burchnell Spacemaster zoom 20x45 and
and Bausch&Lomb 20x60
Zeiss Binoculars 10x40 and 7x35
DID YOU TAKE NOTES?:
No, not at all
DID YOU CONSULT FIELD GUIDE OR OTHER REFERENCES?:
Yes, during the observation and afterwards at home
WHAT GUIDE(S) OR REFERENCE(S) DID YOU CONSULT?:
Sibley
National Geographiic
Stokes Field Guide to Birds – Western Region
DESCRIPTION:
A small dark loon with a thin slightly upturned, light colored bill. Its
back and side was turned to us the entire time so I only had a glimpse of white
when it turned its head back a couple of times. Seeing if from the side
it did not show any white which I would expect in an adult bird.
Janet wrote "Since I was expecting a Pacific Loon, the first thing I
noticed was how much it didn't look like a Pacific Loon. A browner back than on
the Pacific Loons I'd seen in Wolf Lodge Bay a week earlier. And, as it
was turned away from us I could not see any white on the neck, even when it
turned its head. There was not the crisp contrast of grey to white, nor the
amount of white, that there is on the Pacific.
I definitely noticed that it held its bill tilted upward. Both National
Geographic and Sibley illustrations caused me to think it looked like a
juvenile Red-throated Loon. PS. Roland said he saw some white
on the front of the bird when it turned."
BEHAVIOR:
On the 8th it was swimming with its back and side to us the entire time.
On the 9th it was swimming and diving across the bay. It was too far away for us to see clearly.
After about 15 minutes Garrett MacDonald joined us and we
studied it together for awhile. The
bird disappeared and Janet, Jan and I had to leave. Garrett stayed on, found
the bird again and was able to get a good enough view to be confident that it
was indeed a Red-throated and not a Pacific Loon. (see his report)
HOW AND WHEN DID YOU POSITIVELY IDENTIFY THE BIRD, AND WHAT CLINCHED THE
IDENTIFICATION FOR YOU?
We were not 100% positive because we did not get a view of the front of the
bird. The slender, light, upturned bill and Janet's comparison with the Pacific
Loon she had seen in Wolf Lodge Bay were what made us think it was a
Red-throated.
I posted a possible Red-throated Loon on Inland-nw-birders. Garret MacDonald,
Doug Ward, Jonathan Isacoff and Gina Sheridan confirmed this to be Red-throated
Loon sighting. (see their reports)
(see their reports
HOW DID YOU ELIMINATE SIMILAR SPECIES, AND WHAT WERE THEY?
Much smaller in size, both in body and bill than the Common Loon.
The bill was slender, light colored and upturned which didn't fit the Pacific
Loon.
We could not see the white on the neck because it had its back and side to us
the entire time and on the 9th it was to far away for a clear view.
EXPERIENCE WITH THIS SPECIES (AND SIMILAR SPECIES):
I saw an Immature Red-throated (and two Pacific Loons at the same time)at
Harrison,
Kootenai Co. in October 1992 Rare Bird Report 17-B-92 (Dan Svingen) IBRC accepted.
I was birding with Dan Svingen at the time.
I have 4 other sightings (AK,NY,WA) 1997,1999,2002.
The one in Alaska was in summer plumage the other three (2 in WA) were fall
sightings in. I have several Pacific
Loon sightings. This is Janet's 1st Red-throated Loon but she had just
seen the Wolf Lodge Pacific Loons the week before.
GENERAL BIRDING EXPERIENCE:
I've been birding and keeping bird records since 1962. I have done BBS
surveys before hearing loss.
WERE PHOTO(S), VIDEO, AND/OR AUDIO OBTAINED BY YOU?:
None
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Sent from: 67.142.177