Tag Archives: Red-throated Loon

March 19, 2016

I spent about 2.5 hours at Montrose this morning, March 19, most of that
time looking at the lake. The visibility was good and there were birds
to look at, both on the water and flying around. Except for blackbirds
and Robins, landbirds were scarce. My highlights (not a complete list):

Gadwall – ~12
American Wigeon – 5
Redhead – ~30
Lesser Scaup – ~20
Greater Scaup – 1
White-winged Scoter – ~20
Common Goldeneye – ~12
Bufflehead – ~7
Common Merganser – 1 adult male flying north
Red-breasted Merganser – ~300
Red-throated Loon – 2 flying north, both in basic type plumage
Common Loon – 1 alternate plumaged bird flying north
Horned Grebe – ~50, most on the lake but a few in the harbor
Eared Grebe – 1 alternate plumaged bird on the lake
Great Black-backed Gull – 1 first cycle
Glaucous/Iceland Gull – 1 near adult flying north

The Eared Grebe was a big surprise. I tried to turn it into something
more expected but everything about the bird said Eared Grebe. Somewhat
surprisingly it was in full alternate plumage; most of the Horned Grebes
today were still in basic plumage or transitioning into alternate
plumage. I also had a meadowlark in the Dunes that looked good for a
Western but I let it go.

Red-throated Loons, April, 19, 2015

I did a brief lakewatch from the end of the fishing pier at Montrose this morning, April 19. There weren’t many birds moving but I did have 2 basic type Red-throated Loons flying north not far offshore. I think it’s getting late for this species. I also had numbers of Horned Grebes and Red-breasted Mergansers on the lake. Landbirds were scarce.

Red-throated Loon, March 7, 2015

Red-throated Loon

Red-throated Loon (click to see a larger version)

I had an adult Red-throated Loon at Montrose this morning, March 7. The bird was in the lake just off the southeast corner of the point. I had been standing on the walkway scanning the lake when the loon appeared out of nowhere and in front of me. Red-throated Loons are uncommon but regular spring visitors to Montrose.

Great Black-backed Gull and Red-throated Loon, January 19, 2015

Great Black-backed Gull

Great Black-backed Gull (click to see the larger version)

A walk around Montrose this morning, January 19, yielded a couple good birds. While I was scanning the lake from the fishing pier I saw a Red-throated Loon on the water a few hundred yards offshore. The bird was slowly drifting to the north and I thought I could get a better look at it by walking north on the pier as it swam north but I lost sight of it. Red-throated Loons are rare in winter at Montrose, though they are the expected loon at this time of the year.

I also had a first cycle Great Black-backed Gull near the parking lot adjacent to the bathroom building. The bird was actually up on the grass feeding on handouts like a Ring-billed Gull, a behavior I don’t think I’ve seen before for GBBG. The bird also has a bad left foot as can be seen in the photo below. I saw nothing else of note.

Red-throated Loon, April 9, 2014

Red-throated Loon

Red-throated Loon (click to see the larger version)

A basic type Red-throated Loon was in the lake just off the end of the fishhook pier this morning, April 9. The bird was swimming and diving between the many fishing lines that fishermen have put out, and I was worried that it would get tangled or worse take the bait. What a mess that would be, both for the loon and the fishermen. When I last saw the bird it was moving away from the lines, which made me feel a little better. I saw nothing else of note this morning.