Hello Ontbirders I just got in from a great weekend in Pelee. This report is to support the observation made by Brett Ewald of Hilton, New York, of a breeding adult Pacific Loon seen on the morning of Friday, May 16th, at the tip of Point Pelee .
To the best of my knowledge, Brett made his observation from the West beach, near the tip. At approximately 8:00am, while standing on the observation platform, scanning birds in the nearby water off the west point of the tip, with binoculars, I noticed a loon with a bulbous gray head, dark throat and dark body. The head was held perfectly horizontal (bill straight out). My immediate response was of an adult breeding Arctic/Pacific Loon type. The loon then dove. The duration of the observation was probably fractions of a second. With great anxiety, I alerted my group to relocate the loon. I frantically shouted out the bird's location, occasionally scanning with binoculars. I saw the Loon pop up once, but it dove before I was able to get my binoculars on it. Unfortunately, my concentration was averted as people directed me to Common Loons, Mergansers and Cormorants. In desperation, I looked around to see if any other groups or individuals were displaying the same excitement as myself. Unfortunately, even after several minutes, I could not relocate the bird. Nor could I see anyone in my proximity displaying the euphoric excitement of seeing a rare bird. I was convinced it was NOT a Common Loon. However, I was unable to persuade myself to completely rule out Red-throated Loon. Unfortunately, I can't remember the extent of the darkness on the face. I definitely did not see anything that could separate Pacific Loon from Arctic Loon. My observation was so incomplete, and under such poor conditions, that I doubted my ability to discern details properly in this case. Therefore, since the bird disappeared, I thought it best to forget the observation, and not alarm the birding community with vague details of such a significant rarity. I also feared being accused of "Pelee Fever" (None of you have ever suffered that. Have You?) However, later that afternoon, I was told about Brett's sighting, and thought that my information could help support his report. It should also be noted that Lloyd Paul has reported two "first summer" Pacific Loons from Prince Edward Point on Wednesday, May 14. ...catching my breath... Tony "Tony Beck" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Visit http://www.ofo.ca/ontbirdsguide.htm for information on leaving and joining the list. As well as general information and content guidelines.
