A lone juvenile Pacific Loon kept me glued to Martin Lake at Lathrop State Park for most of the morning.
All of my previous experience with this species has been non-breeding adult plumage. I kept following it around the lake lugging my spotting scope with me, checking and re-checking the descriptions, illustrations and range map in Sibley's. Finally called my husband, who was on his way to Walsenburg, and persuaded him to take a detour. With both of us checking we still could not come to a definitive conclusion. We had quickly eliminated Common, Red-throated and Yellow-billed, which left us with Pacific or Arctic. While both of us have seen Pacific Loon (including one at Lathrop State Park in 2008) neither of us has experience with Arctic. The loon "appeared" to have a flatish crown and a white patch on the flank...however neither seemed pronounced enough for Arctic...which, judging from the range maps, would have been a great stretch. Upon arrival at home, and review of my photos, was still undecided, so posted some to Cobirds Facebook page, my Facebook page and sent some to friends over e-mail, and finally, I compared my shots today with our shots of the Pacific Loon we had seen in 2008. The conclusion was probably foregone: Pacific Loon.
I did not see the Black-legged Kittiwake, but my attention was on the loon. I will head back out to Lathrop in the morning and pay closer attention to the gulls!
Polly Wren Neldner
La Veta, CO
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