On January 15, 2008, white attempting to track down the possible "Arctic Loon" which is apparently a runt Common Loon, or whatever it is, with some anomalous features including a large white flank patch, but which in most every way was the correct giss for a Common Loon, I located what was clearly a juvenile Arctic/Pacific Loon with a large white flank patch. I and one other observer (Dale Ohl) watched that bird for one hour while the bird rested, slept, preened and just floated on the water, a couple hundred yards off the old Van Zandt County Park boat ramp. The water was relatively calm and we had good looks at the bird’s features. I didn’t see the strange runt Common Loon that morning, which at this point I thought was still an adult Arctic Loon, and being understandably hesitant to post that I thought there were now TWO Arctic Loons, I didn’t post about the second bird specifically, other than to say that I had seen an Arctic Loon. I returned on January 17 with two other observers (Mike Dillon and Peter Barnes) but the wind was howling from the north and the waves were too high. I didn’t see a single loon.

 I returned early the next morning January 18 and found the funny runt Common Loon. Later in the morning I ran into Barb Peterman and Mike Dillon and together we located the juvenile Arctic/Pacific Loon with the large white flank patches off the boat ramp parking lot. We watched it sleep and rest for an hour and ten minutes. This was clearly not a Common Loon and the white flank patch was distinct as was the giss for an Arctic Loon. I made a sketch, which I showed to Mike and Barb and they agreed that my sketch matched what they had just seen. Barb sat down on her stool and took detailed notes which she has already posted. I returned with Paul Miliotis on Sunday, January 20 and around 11:00 and ran into some other birders, including David Sarkozi, John O’Brien, and several other people. David and John mentioned that they had seen a Pacific Loon and I think they possibly wondered if this was the bird I had called an Arctic. Sometime around 1-2 PM (I was too busy birding to carefully note the time), John got on what he called an Arctic/Pacific type. The rest of us then got on the bird.

At this point it was quite a way out, but and with the sun to our backs the silvery-gray brown nape was really conspicuous in the water. The nearby Common Loons, with their black caps and white faces were easy to see and stood out very clearly. The bird was swimming in the relatively calm water off the dam—the wind was out of the south giving some protection to the waters there. Between the waves, we could see the conspicuous white flank patches on both sides which appeared to come up on the sides, and was not an artifact of roll preening. We discussed the bird for a few minutes, noting that this was clearly an Arctic/Pacific Loon and not a Common Loon. The white flank patches were very distinctive as was the brownish gray nape. John noted that the only bird that would be similar in nape color would be a [Red-necked] Grebe, but I added that the bill was not the right color to which everyone agreed. The bill on this bird was a bluish gray—with no trace of yellow. John then placed his camera mount on his scope and took a few pictures though I doubt they were very good (they weren’t). We watched the bird for perhaps thirty minutes (again I failed to note the exact time of this observation) and then John, David, Paul and I went to look for the Ash-throated Flycatcher. Sometime around 3:30, after everyone had left, Paul and I returned to search for the loon again. After a few minutes Paul found the bird and I quickly got on it. It was MUCH closer this time than any of my other observations and was swimming in the full sun with its neck fully extended. I made mental notes, attempted to get digiscopes, (I got about 8 before the battery failed) and the bird started diving. During this observation I was able to see the bird MUCH better than I had previously, including the distinctive dark line on the border between the silvery gray brownish nape and the white throat. The bill appeared almost blue gray. They eye was inside the brownish gray and the bird had a brownish back with white scalloped edging. The bird was side by side with a Common Loon and was distinctly smaller, though not to my eye as small as a Pacific Loon would be. The bird then began diving and we lost it, but about an hour later we spotted it again right up next to the dam with a small group of Common Loons. We left about 4:30 with the bird still in sight along the dam.

The next day I made a color sketch of the bird from my field sketch. I have sent these images to several people who concurred that this bird certainly looks good for an Arctic Loon. It certainly matches all the photos I have been able to find. I only got two digiscoped images that show the bird, but in one of these images the brownish gray nape, dark back and white flank patch are clearly evident. A day or so later I got a note from John, who had been examining his photos of the alleged Arctic/Pacific Loon that he and David had seen earlier that morning. He noted that the bird had been riding very low in the water and in one of his images the top of the white flank patch was clearly evident, making him consider that he had in fact, already photographed the Arctic Loon and didn’t realize it. Incredibly, the bird he photographed looks identical to the one I had seen—at least in facial features, and has a little brownish point on the lower sides—which is good for Arctic less so for Pacific. The bird sports a brownish nape, with a dark line on the border between the nape and the throat. Both John and David noted that the bird lacked a chin strap, but in one of the birds a shadow on the crease of the neck is evident which appears as a dusky smudge, but I don’t really think this is a chin strap per se on his bird. This website shows Arctic Loons with similar markings. In John’s photos, there is a similarity between this image and AL 25 on the above website. On the bird in his photo, which is riding low in the water, only a trace of a white patch is evident above the waterline, this being strongest toward the rear. This bird will likely remain with the loons that winter at the lake. It is a very distinctive bird and well marked. I just read in the literature (the BNA account for Arctic and Pacific Loon) that hybrids between Arctic and Common Loons have been noted.

I wonder what one of those critters would look like in winter.