February 14 Update

I arrived at LakeTawakoni this morning at 8:30. I stayed until about 10:45 and didn't see another birder.... The wind was from the south and the temp was in the 40s and the viewing conditions were perfect. From the parking lot at the boat ramp I could see details on the Two Mile Bridge 7 miles away. The south wind was creating an area of calm at the southern terminus of the lake off the old boat ramp parking lot and the loons were concentrating there. I had four species of loons today... Pacific, Red-throated, Common and Arctic. The Arctic Loon was about 300 yards out and when I first saw it, something about it reminded me at first of a cross between a loon and a Canvasback. This is a Pacific/Arctic type loon that is noticeably larger than the Pacific with white sides and flanks that are very distinctive. The nape is pale grayish brown and the bill is longer than the Pacific Loon and this is quite evident. The Red-throated Loon that I saw today (for the second time in a month) does show some white along the sides, but not as much as this bird...particularly on the flanks. Red-throated Loon is just a totally different bird with white on the head up over the eye, gray nape with an uneven boundary on the side of the neck, etc, pencil thin bill held upwards and on and on. The Arctic Loon was not hard to find today and I would advise the hordes of birders who are seeking this bird to look toward the red and white tower that has four legs. This tower is roughly east north east from the parking lot. The bird seems to favor that area as I have seen it on several visits in that area. But GO EARLY in the morning before the heat waves get up.

February 10

The Arctic Loon at Lake Tawakoni put on a good show yesterday for Nick Cooney and myself. When I arrived at 10:45 the lake was calm as glass and there were no heat waves. We had several Common Loons, a Pacific Loon, and the Arctic Loon which was easily identifiable by its size (smaller than the Common Loon, and larger than the Pacific Loon). We watched it for about 30 minutes and noted the white flank patch which was evident and as the bird was riding high in the water, so were the white sides. The silvery gray brown nape was very apparent as well. By about 11:45 the heat waves began to roll in and the bird became blurry and disappeared.

Folks, this bird very well may remain for several weeks or more. When the weather is relatively calm and the heat waves haven't gotten up yet (typically in the early morning), this bird is NOT hard to find. From the boat ramp parking lot that is about 1/2 mile east of Holiday Marina the bird is most consistenly due north to north northeast. It really is worth a trip to see. There was a boat right behind the bird. If one had been in that boat the looks would have been awesome.