Yesterday, I posted a note about a Red-throated Loon that I thought I'd found at Tomhannock Reservoir.
I had first spotted the bird from the east side of the reservoir (where Croll Road comes in). it was way across the water, by the opposite shore. My first inclination was that it was a Pacific Loon. So I called Jory and asked him to stand by to get the word out as I went around to the other side (Ford Road) where I might get a closer look at the bird. When I got to the other shore, and sure enough, the bird had moved over to the other side, closer to where I had initially spotted it. I tried a few photos, as the bird dove repeatedly. Viewing was more difficult from this angle, and given the bird's more active behavior. Then, I lost sight of it. Taking a more conservative approach, I called Jory again and told him that I believed it to be a Red-throated Loon after all. Well, I had a rather poor picture which I shared with others. The opinion I received back was that the loon looked more lime a Pacific - type loon . Taking another look at the photo, I'm now inclined to agree. Pacific Loon. I went back this afternoon, and could not relocate the bird. But the sun was shining and the wind had the water in a blazing chop with whitecaps, making finding a loon difficult. And, it is a big reservoir. I'll post the picture on HM Birds Yahoo site for your perusal and to solicit opinions: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/hmbirds/photos/album/65541066/pic/list?mode=tn <http://groups.yahoo.com/group/hmbirds/photos/album/65541066/pic/list?mode=t n&order=ordinal&start=1&dir=asc> &order=ordinal&start=1&dir=asc Rich Guthrie [email protected] -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/maillist.html 2) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html 3) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
