About 3:00 pm, I observed from the Ohio shore a loon-like bird at the
upstream end of the locks at Willow Island Lock and Dam south of St. Marys,
WV and north of Marietta, OH. Being in the water, the bird was in WV,
though it could easily have near the OH shore earlier.

My first thought was Common Loon, but after viewing it for about 30
seconds, I am 80%-90% sure it was a Red-throated Loon. The bird was seen
through 60X scope magnification with a slight wobble due to a light breeze.
There was also a bit of heat shimmer off the water. Unfortunately, when I
walked closer the bird disappeared--perhaps behind the lock wall. I did not
see it fly. I attempted to find it for another 30 minutes, but
unsuccessfully.

The bird had that low-riding-in-the-water posture typical of loons. Its
body length seemed to be quite a bit longer than its neck length. The neck
was not long and held in a squat, slightly-curled posture. The head
appeared small, and the thin bill appeared to point slightly upward. The
back was dark, though I thought I saw a faint checkerboard pattern. The
neck and face were white, and there was only a faint cap.

The upturned bill, white face, and small head would support Red-throated
Loon over Common Loon. The faint cap, longer body, and general impression
support RT Loon over Horned Grebe, of which there were at least 3 present.
The grebes all showed very definite dark caps and a level head posture, and
of course appeared much smaller.

Also present were about a dozen Ring-billed Gulls, 10 Double-crested
Cormorants, 2 immature Bald Eagles, and a few American Black Ducks and
Hooded Mergansers.

Earlier at the St. Marys Marina in WV, I observed the Snow Goose found
earlier in the day by Martin Powney. 85 Canada Geese were also present.

American Black Ducks, Hooded Mergansers, and Double-crested Cormorants were
seen at several locations both in WV and OH between Belmont and St. Marys.
Immature Bald Eagles were at Sycamore Lake and French Creek in WV.

3 Common Mergansers were at French Creek, as were 33 cormorants. At least 1
Peregrine Falcon was on the Ohio River Bridge at St. Marys on the Ohio
tower.

Newell Run wetlands in Ohio had 25 Gadwalls, 1 Bufflehead, and 1
Pied-billed Grebe in addition to a Belted Kingfisher, a Great Blue Heron,
and several Black Ducks, Hooded Mergansers, and cormorants.

In the morning I birded McDonough Wildlife Park in Vienna, WV, where the
highlights included:

Brown Thrasher--1 very late bird down near the ponds
Swamp Sparrow--2 near the thrasher in the adjacent field
Cedar Waxwing--17 along the paved loop
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker--1 along the paved loop

--
Terry Bronson
Marietta, OH

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