[obol] Arctic Loon reported in nw. coastal California

[Mike Patterson]

There is also apparently one, first reported by Bob Sundstrom on
Feb 7th?  on the North Coast of Washington near Blaine:

 Subject: Re: RFI : Blaine Arctic Loon ??
 From: "Greg and Sally Toffic" <toffic.family AT verizon.net>
 Date: Tue, 12 Feb 2008 16:54:06 -0800

 Guy,
 On Sunday, at the Semiahmoo Marina, Barry Levine and I observed a loon that 
 MIGHT have been the Arctic.  There were several common loons nearby to 
 compare the bird with directly, and there were many Pacifics (and a few 
 red-throated) nearby in the channel between Blaine and Semiahmoo. The bird 
 seemed smaller than the commons, but since the pacifics were obscured by the 
 boats in the marina we could only guess at the relative size of the bird. 
 My guess is that it was intermediate in size between Pacific and common. It 
 seemed browner that the commons, had a flat crown, always showed white 
 flanks above the water line, (but the white didn't flare at the hip), and , 
 perhaps most notably, had a white cheek and auricular that extended dorsally 
 moreso than on the other loons.
 After watching it for fifteen minutes or so, we parted company agreeing that 
 we couldn't emphatically say that we were seeing the Arctic.  However, when 
 I got a chance to look at loon images and illustrations when I got home, I 
 started to think that the white cheek patch pattern suggested Arctic.
 Sooo, in answer to your question, the loon MAY have been seen Sunday.
 Greg Toffic
 Everett

> David Fix Jude Power wrote:
> 
> An apparent Arctic Loon is presently at Stone Lagoon, on the northern California coast in
> Humboldt County.  The bird was reported this morning diving actively opposite the visitor
> center along Highway 101 and was seen by Kerry Ross and Rob Fowler, who followed up on a
> "probable" report to the Bird Alert (707-822-5666) by an out-of-area birder.  This is
> a first for Humboldt and if accepted would, I believe, be the 6th for California and first
> north of Bodega Bay.  Stone Lagoon is a little less than an hour south of Crescent City
> and 52 miles south of the Oregon border.
> 
> Obviously the long-staying bird at Brownsmead would be of far greater interest to persons
> on this list, but since this species is so rare all along the West Coast, I thought it
> would be good to cross-post about it.
> 
> At least two Slaty-backed Gulls, a Little Blue Heron, and a Crested Caracara have been in
> the Smith River bottoms lately, and a Slaty-back was seen at the outflow of Elk Creek just
> south of downtown Crescent City yesterday.  At least two and possibly three Slaty-backed
> Gulls have been documented in Humboldt County as well in recent weeks.
> 
> David Fix
> Arcata, California
> 


-- 
Mike Patterson               
Astoria, OR                    
celata at pacifier.com  
 
Gull, you really got me going
http://www.surfbirds.com/blogs/mbalame/archives/2008/01/gull20080105.html