An odd day in that I saw all the birds I was looking for, including my second-ever Black-legged Kittiwake and Red-throated Loon. I didn’t get a photo of the kittiwake. When I saw it, it was flying out over the lake too far away to make a picture worthwhile. But I definitely saw the black “M” on its wings, as did the two other birders nearby.
Here’s the Red-throated Loon. It came in closer than this, but was in direct line with the sun, which made looking at it very difficult, much less photographing it. I think it’s a first-winter bird because it isn’t as pale as the pictures in the field guide, but it has the classic, thin, up-turned bill, and it was considerably smaller and sleeker than the several Common Loons in the area.
Common Loon
Mystery Bird (although I’m pretty sure it’s another Common Loon). Other birders were calling it a Pacific Loon because of the straight border between the dark and light on the neck, but it didn’t look this crisp on some other photos I took. It also doesn’t have the chin strap that most Pacific Loons have, and it has more white around the eyes than Pacific Loons should. I found a Common Loon photo online that could have been another angle on this same bird, so I’m going with Common.
Bonaparte’s Gull
Canyon Towhee. I’m not sure if something is wrong with its wing. It flew to this spot, so it couldn’t have been too injured, but it held the right wing out like this the whole time I watched.
