Today was the Christmas Bird Count for Sitka. Unfortunately there were strong winds and heavy rain for most of the day. Despite this I managed to walk over 10 miles and tallied over 30 species of birds. I’ve had a bit of computer trouble this evening, or I would offer a better summary of my results. I didn’t really find anything unexpected, but it was nice to find the things I figured were around but would be easy to miss, such as the two coots.

I may write up a more thorough account later, but right now I think it’s probably time to get some rest and let my body recover (it’s been quite sometime since I walked so much in one day).

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When Swan Lake first froze, these American Coots moved to the Channel and have stayed there since.

When Swan Lake first froze, these American Coots moved to the Channel and have stayed there since.

There was at least one Ring-necked Duck in with the scaups at the cove by North Pacific Seafoods today.

I'm not sure which species of Scaup these are.

I'm pretty sure this is a Lesser Scaup.

Common Loon between the fingers at Eliason Harbor.

After heavy overcast, rain, and wind all day, there was a small break in the clouds to provide an accent of color at the end of the day.

After heavy overcast, rain, and wind all day, there was a small break in the clouds to provide an accent of color at the end of the day.

Below is one photo of each of the other loons in question. I have arranged them from the most Pacific Loon-like to the least Pacific Loon-like, to my eyes. (Numberings are from the previous post, look there to see additional photos of some of these loons.)

(Click thumbnails for larger versions.)

(Bird #1)

Loon observed at Starrigavan 14 December 2004.

Common(?) Loon observed 12 December 2006 outside Crescent Harbor breakwater. Seen with Common Loon.

This Loon was observed at Eliason Harbor 6 November 2006.

I am not entirely certain about this identification. The bird seemed less bulky than many Common Loons. Perhaps it's a first year bird? Observed 16 January 2007 at Eliason Harbor.

Loon observed 12 December 2005 in Crescent Harbor breakwater.

Common(?) Loon observed 27 October 2006 while kayaking at north end of channel.

It seems to me that the first five pictures above show something of a continuum of patterning on the neck. However, it also seems like lighting, posture, and positioning play a significant role in the apparent patterning (or lack thereof) on the neck. To me, the sixth bird looks signficantly different than the first five, but it’s worth noting that it’s also the only one without its head/neck extended up rather then folded down a bit.

It’s also worth noting the following picture of Bird #4, which look far more Common Loon-like.

Loon observed 12 December 2005 in Crescent Harbor.

Loon observed 12 December 2005 in Crescent Harbor.

Upon realizing that I had misplaced the third picture of Bird #4 (the one that’s in the list above) and it actually belonged with these two, I came to think that probably all of the birds were Common Loons since the third picture fit into the continuum of birds that looked a little unusual for Common Loons and had elements suggestive of Pacific Loons, but also, in different postures, looked very much like a Common Loon.

Of course, I could be wrong about all of this, but I like to think I’m on the right track. Hopefully someone will set me straight, if I’m not.

Questions that remain for me are:

How variable is the neck pattern in Common Loons? Does the first bird, which seems to have no neck pattern at all, but otherwise looks very much like the other birds, fit within this variation?

How variable is the amount of white around the eye in Common and Pacific Loons? Pictures I have of birds that are clearly Pacific Loons (scroll to bottom for photos) seem to show white around the eye, though the field guides I’ve looked at suggest there is not any. The birds pictured above do not have as much white as other birds I have taken pictures of that are clearly Common Loons (scroll to bottom for photos), and less than the field guides I’ve looked at seem to suggest they should have.

Is it unusual for a Common Loon to show a chin strap, as Bird #8 seems to?

Loon comparison

Loon observed at Starrigavan 14 December 2004.

Common(?) Loon observed 12 December 2006 outside Crescent Harbor breakwater. Seen with Common Loon.

Pacific(?) Loon (Bird #1)

Loon observed at Starrigavan 14 December 2004.

Loon observed at Starrigavan 14 December 2004.

This loon was the first I ever took pictures of, back on 14 December 2004. I have changed my mind about whether it was a Pacific Loon or not several times over the time since, though most often I have considered it a Pacific Loon. What inclines me toward Pacific Loon is that it seems to have the clean line between white and gray on the neck and it’s not as bulky as I tend to think of Common Loons being. On the other hand, the bill seems more bulky than I would expect for a Pacific Loon, it seems to have white around the eye, and there’s no hint of a chinstrap. However, it looks even less like a Common Loon.

Common(?) Loon (Bird #2)

This Loon was observed at Eliason Harbor 6 November 2006.

Common(?) Loon (Bird #3)

I am not entirely certain about this identification. The bird seemed less bulky than many Common Loons. Perhaps it's a first year bird? Observed 16 January 2007 at Eliason Harbor.

Common(?) Loon (Bird #4)

Loon observed 12 December 2005 in Crescent Harbor.

Loon observed 12 December 2005 in Crescent Harbor.

Loon observed 12 December 2005 in Crescent Harbor breakwater.

This loon, photographed in the south corner of Crescent Harbor 12 December 2005, seemed to me a Common Loon. I still lean pretty hard toward Common Loon, as it’s got the bulk and the contrast/line between the light and dark of the neck seems more consistent with a Common Loon. On the other hand, the bill seems a little short and there is no white above the eye (as would be expected on a Common Loon). Update: Looking at the third picture, it’s apparent there is some white above the eye. I had forgotten the third photo was of this bird (rather than the ones taken the same day outside the harbor) until going back through the pictures and double checking my original notes on it.

Common(?) Loons (Bird #5 and #6)

Loon observed 12 December 2005 outside Crescent Harbor breakwater.

Common(?) Loon observed 12 December 2006 outside Crescent Harbor breakwater. Seen with Common Loon.

Common Loon observed 12 December 2005 outside Crescent Harbor breakwater.

Common Loon observed 12 December 2005 outside Crescent Harbor breakwater.

Update: Now that I have compared one of these photos with one I am thinking of as a Pacific Loon (see above), I’m a little more inclined to think these are Pacific Loons.

Pacific(?) Loon (Bird #7)

This Red-throated Loon was observed while kayaking in Eastern Channel on 27 October 2006.

Common(?) Loon (Bird #8)

Common(?) Loon observed 27 October 2006 while kayaking at north end of channel.

This morning after dropping Rowan off at preschool, I went kayaking for a couple of hours. I went out towards Middle Channel, over to the lighthouse and then approached Beardslee Island before heading back to town. Rowan and I went to Swan Lake after I picked her up from preschool.

Weather: Winds were calm and temperatures got into the 50s. There was a thin high overcast for much of the day, but without any wind, even the dimmed sun felt warm. Heavier overcast started to come in later this afternoon, though a break near the horizon this evening made for a colorful sunset. Later in the evening it started raining.

Birds: I was hoping to see Fork-tailed Storm-petrels today, but had little luck in that regard. I may have seen one when I was headed back in. It flew something like a storm-petrel, but crossed some distance in front of me and I lost it before it really ever settled down.

I saw 10 Common Loons not far past the Lighthouse. There were also at least 40-50 cormorants, with the large majority of them Pelagic Cormorants. Mostly they were sunning themselves on the rocks, until they decided they did not care much for me and my kayak and flew away.

At Sage Rock there were quite a few Harlequin Ducks, and a small flock of Black Turnstones flew in as I was getting back to shorer.

I heard a Northern Flicker around the neighborhood this morning.

About the same time as Rowan and I arrived at Swan Lake, at least 50 crows flew in as well. They seemed to mostly be hanging out together, foraging on the grass, with some taking baths at the edge of the lake. After some time, they all flew off across the lake together in a couple of flocks.

There has been a Belted Kingfisher at the lake recently. It seems to favor a perch across the lake from the penninsula. Today I think I saw it being chased by a crow. It looked as if the crow was chasing it and finally it plopped into the water as kingfishers sometimes do. After a moment, it popped back out again and flew off to its favored perch (with another plop or two along the way). It may have just been coincidental alignment, rather than the crow actually chasing the kingfisher, since both were so far away, I’m not positive they were actually as close together as they looked.

There were more scaups on the lake today. At least 7-10 of them. I’m still trying to puzzle out whether they are Greater or Lesser Scaups. The ones I have had the best look at are not obviously one or the other to me. I finally got a good enough look at Ring-necked Ducks to be sure there were some there (after thinking I saw at least one last week, I never got a good enough look again to feel confident in that).

Another new arrival at the lake was an American Coot, the first I’ve seen this fall.

Holdovers from previous days included three American Wigeons and a Cackling Goose. I also heard a Northern Flicker somewhere in the area while I was at the lake. That’s not too unusual, I’ve found.

This evening at sunset I saw a Cackling or Canada Goose in the water off Sage Beach. It was by itself on the water, so I had a difficult time judging how large it was.

Other Notes: There was an active dragonfly at Swan Lake today. I have not noticed one the last few times I have been there. I suspect the warmer temperatures today had something to do with its activity.

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