Pacific Loon remains in Washtenaw County

[Allen Chartier]

Birders,

This afternoon (December 26) more than a dozen birders continued to watch 
the previously reported Pacific Loon out in the middle of Portage Lake at 
the northern border of Washtenaw County. The bird was fairly active (though 
about 1/4 mile away), swimming back and forth, stretching and flapping its 
wings, rolling over on its side, basically showing us all the field marks 
necessary to confirm it as a Pacific Loon. It was with a few Mallards, 
Canvasbacks, Buffleheads, Common Goldeneyes, and other ducks.

At one point later in the afternoon, the bird took off and flew 2-3 circles 
around the lake, and then headed off out of sight to the west. About a 
minute later, the bird reappeared from the northeast (!) and landed back in 
its original patch of open water in the lake. Hopefully, the warmer weather 
will increase the amount of open water and the bird may not fly off. But, it 
can and will fly, so you may want to try for this one sooner rather than 
later. Although the bird has been seen well enough to confirm the ID, I 
would be surprised if any truly diagnostic photos have been taken of the 
bird yet, so keep trying!

For those not familiar with Washtenaw County, here are some directions:

>From US-23, take the North Territorial Road exit (this is south of (I-96) 
and go west several miles to Dexter-Pinckney Road. Turn right and go perhaps 
1 1/2 miles or so to the Portage Lake Yacht Club parking area on the right 
(this is maybe 1/2 mile past McGregor Road).

Allen Chartier
amazilia1 at comcast.net
1442 West River Park Drive
Inkster, MI  48141
Website: http://www.amazilia.net
Michigan HummerNet: http://www.amazilia.net/MIHummerNet
Blog: http://mihummingbirdguy.blogspot.com
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Every day, the hummingbird eats its own weight in food.
You may wonder how it weighs the food. It doesn't.
It just eats another hummingbird.
---Steven Wright