[TN-Bird] Pacific Loon carcass found in Lauderdale Co. TN

June 29, 2003
Lauderdale Co. TN
While running the back roads south of Open Lake and north of Chisholm Lake, I 
noticed an all dark bird on the side of the gravel road that appeared to be a 
cormorant. I went a little ways before my curiosity got to me as it usually 
does and I turned around and drove back. As I walked up to the bird, I could 
see it had been dead quite a while and severely dried out and flattened from 
being run over. At first I was surprised at its size and had hopes it might be 
a 
Neotropic, but as I got closer I could see some white on the belly. 

The legs were more towards the rear of the body than they would be on a 
cormorant and I then realized the bird was a loon and as I turned it over, 
recognized it to be a Pacific Loon. It measured about 22 inches total from bill 
to 
tail with my tape but was too stiff to completely straighten out. The eye was 
surrounded by dark feathering including the lores. The demarcation between the 
dark hind neck and white fore neck, at the side of the throat, was quite 
defined 
and straight. A silvery tone could be seen around the nape area. The all dark 
bill was in pretty bad shape but the lower mandible showed no gonydeal angle 
and from what I could tell was shaped about the same as the upper. This gives 
the Pacific's bill the shape of a stiletto like blade.

There was no way to tell how the bird had died. The area in which I found the 
bird was flooded until just recently, so it could have died from natural 
causes, became trapped in an area to small from which it could take flight or 
any 
other number of scenarios.

I'm sure it is a first county record but not unique in the area as I found 
and photographed a molting adult on Mud Lake just to the north in Lake Co. on 
June 4, 1996. This bird stayed for a week and later that month, near 
Tiptonville 
Landing, we found another immature Pacific in a flooded field on June 22, it 
stayed one day. So this bird fits into a pattern of late occurring migrant 
Pacific Loons here along the Mississippi River. That year, 1996, just as this 
year the Mississippi came up very high and water stayed in the fields until 
July.

Good Birding!!!

Jeff R. Wilson
OL' COOT / TLBA
Bartlett Tenn.


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