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A Yellow-billed Loon in Pescadero Creek, November 2006

On November 18, 2006 a group of birders from Sequoia and Napa/Solano Audubon found this uncommon loon at the mouth to Pescadero Creek. We were able to observe the bird in the same area for about an hour in brisk winds but beautifully clear light. Thanks to all those generous folks who took the time to post a rare California sighting of a Yellow-billed Loon

Anybody down there?

Several times we saw it quickly pursuing prey under water but never saw it actually capture or eat anything.

The Loon appeared to be in excellent health with very little feather wear. Guessing that the food resources must be at least marginally good for the bird to hang around for at least 6 days in a row

At about noon it was time for a nice leisurely preen which was delightful to watch

The preening went on for about five minutes and gave us an opportunity to observe the undersides of the bird at some length

Also at Sutro Heights, a Hooded Oriole pair were in and out of their pendulum style nest several times keeping a wary eye on their Red-tail neighbors

This image is soft but it was our only glimpse at the underwing coverts and flight feather plumage

These last two shots taken a few seconds apart are a good example of how angle of light can change the look of a bird to a considerable degree. Notice how much lighter the area behind the eye appears on the shot at left as compared to the one below

A couple of Surfbirds were having an engaging interaction while the Black Turnstone neighbors just looked the other way

Even in very low light conditions the high contrast plumage of a Black Turnstone in flight is telling

An adult and a first year Brown Pelican flying side by side made a fun study

Along with sevarl other birders we observed the Loon on November 24th. 2006 beginning about 11:45 AM Fortunately, the Loon seemed to pretty much ignore us and swam within 20 feet of our perch above the water several times

For the first 15 to 20 minutes the bird was very actively foraging, submerging its head, looking around and then shallow diving when something caught it's attention

All together an excellent experience on a beautiful day in a gorgeous area of the coast P.S. This area is always one of our favorites. Here's a couple of other bird snaps for your viewing pleasure