Allan Claybon and I found a small loon among a few Common Loons in the bay near Harveysburg Rd at Caesar Creek State Park this afternoon. From our vantage point we could not get good looks at the bird as we were looking into the sun. After Allan left I parked in a different spot (dirt parking area just past the last house on Harveysburg) and walked the path down to the water. From there the afternoon sun was behind me and I had much better views of the bird.

I believe the bird was a juvenile Pacific Loon. The head and neck were lighter than the back, the neck was pale on the nape and was darker near the front. I never saw any white along the flanks, there were some flecks of paler feathers on the back. I looked for a chin strap, and believe I had good enough views to see one, if present. but did not. The forehead appeared angled somewhere between a Red-throated and Common.

Some composite images from heavily cropped photos are here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rasamoto/

Rick Asamoto
Miamisburg

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