[Birdnet] Yellow-billed Loon (YES!)

[Deb Thornton]

Matt and all,

Julie and I talked with you, Matt, as you were leaving, and shortly
thereafter we walked down by the shore (instead of staying on the road).
Nothing. We were joined eventually by a man and his son, and the four of
us continued walking around the shore, where we saw a couple of osprey
and watched them for a while. The little fellow was excited to see
osprey up so close. I spotted a common loon next to the bank there.
Eventually we turned back, while the other two continued down the bank.
Nothing. Nothing. More nothing. The wind started to kick up.

We decided to walk back on the road and find Kris's pink ribbon. We
were actually standing by the ribbon when Julie raised her binoculars
and saw two more loons straight out from where we were standing. One
black bill and one yellow. The loons were very close to the shore of
broken asphalt. I tried emailing Kris (don't know if that worked) to
tell her that her ribbon had scored another success. This was at about
5:40 this evening. We rushed to the shore (periodically waving like
marooned fools on a desert island, hoping the other two would see us and
comearunnin'.). The birds were fairly close to the shore when we got
there, and we had great looks while the two loons slowly drifted farther
from the shore. Of course, Time Stood Still while we were looking, so I
don't know what time we headed for the car again.

So, as of at least 5:40 this evening, the yellow-billed loon was still
at the Jordanelle. We followed the excellent directions precisely and
were fortunate to see the bird.

Cheers and good luck everyone!
Deb Thornton

>>> "Matthew J. Williams" <mjw22 at comcast.net> 5/20/2008 9:53 PM >>>
All,
     It doesn't hurt my pride (too much) to admit that I chased and 
failed.  I had a 1-year old that "helped" me in my quest...if only by 
providing a viable excuse for giving up well before dark and letting me
use 
his jogging stroller as a tripod carrier.   I confess I used to make
fun of 
birders like me.

I saw at least 2 other search teams as I made my retreat and, given
their 
silence thus far, I assume their luck was as good as mine.  I would
love to 
be proven wrong.   For the record, I didn't scope from the marina or
check 
the other "arm" of the reservoir.  If someone does try tomorrow,
results of 
any flavor would be appreciated by many.

Dave's directions were great, I left before I got the pink flagging 
email.  I should just know to look for that with Kris out on the 
prowl.  Between about 2:45pm and 4:30pm, I did see at least 5 COMMON 
LOONS....possibly 6 and I spent enough time trying to turn them into a

Yellow-billed that I was quite certain they were Commons.   The wind
had 
picked up quite a bit by this point so it made conditions a bit
difficult 
but visibility was still OK and the waves were relatively small.  The
loons 
seemed to be diving quite a bit, which made relocating them difficult. 
I 
did see the female RED-BREASTED MERGANSER that was previously reported
so 
that made me feel like my search was reasonably thorough.  A very rough

estimate for "western" grebes would be 20.  I also saw an OSPREY, 3
GADWALL 
and 2 SPOTTED SANDPIPERS.

Good luck to anyone who braves the weather tomorrow.  Hopefully it's 
keeping the Loon down on the water, although those strong south winds
might 
remind it that it's not where it needs to be.

Good Birding,
Matt Williams
Midvale, UT

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