This is really exciting. Today at Kerr Reservoir in Mecklenburg County,
I saw the Pacific Loon that has spent the winter there. What this means
is that there are currently 2 separate Pacific Loons at 2 different
inland lakes in Virginia. Unbelievable! I found the loon during my
second try at Palmer Point Rec. Area at around 1:30. It was located a
little to the right of the boat ramp. I got great views of the bird and
watched it for an hour and a half as it preened and fed actively. There
were plenty of Common Loons around for comparison. Seeing the 2 loons
together really emphasizes how different they are. Besides the regular
field marks and the size difference, the shape of the 2 birds are quite
different. The Pacific Loon is so much more slender with a smoothly
rounded head compared to the bulkiness and the somewhat "blockhead"
shape of the Common Loon. At 3:00, I finally tore myself away from the
Pacific Loon. By this time, it had meandered into the cove area left of
the boat ramp, ironically in the same location that I had originally
found the bird 3 months and 1 day ago today. The only lament I had was
that there were no other birders around to share this sighting. As is
usually the case, I was the only birder around. Unfortunately, there
just aren't any birders that live close enough to bird the reservoir
regularly. Other birds seen today included Red-throated Loon (1),
Pied-billed Grebe, Horned Grebe (hundreds), Wood Duck, Gadwall, American
Coot, Lesser Scaup, Bald Eagle, Killdeer, Herring Gull, Bonaparte's
Gull, Red-headed Woodpecker, Eastern Phoebe, Fish Crow, Brown-headed
Nuthatch and Pine Warbler. Good birding.
Adam D'Onofrio
Dinwiddie Co.
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