Vermont Rare Bird Reports 2025

Nick Knudsen ()

The lake was flat due to very little wind. 2 mph N breeze that increased to about 4-5 mph during the last 5 minutes of our observation. Visibility was good.

Kowa TSN- 884 88mm Straight Prominar Fluorite Spotting Scope

6 over the years from Thompson's Point in Charlotte, 1 on the water from Whiskey Bay in Charlotte, 1 at this same location on 1/3/21 & 7 in the state of Washington in 2019.

Lake Champlain during a very calm day on Lake Champlain. There were also Red-throated & Common Loons nearby and on the water.

This bird was mostly seen on the surface but did begin to dive toward the end of our observation, presumably to feed. We did not see it fly.

None heard.

I found this loon among the many other loons that were on the water that day. Two things stood out that caught my eye. The side of the neck showed a fairly straight line separating the hind neck from the fore neck and the head was rounded.

This loon was about the size of the nearby Red-throated Loons but a bit bigger. Straightish stocky looking neck with a rounded head and a bill that was held level with the surface.

The head was rounded, the crown and nape were a bit less dark than the dark back. The eyes were completely in the dark area that was above a small patch of a whitish face. The throat was white but at times I thought that I saw a chin strap but never did get a satisfying look at it. The hind neck was separated from the fore neck by a straight line. The hind neck was dark & came more than halfway around the sides of the neck. The total neck appeared to be about 2/3 dark & 1/3 white. The white part being the fore neck. It also held its' neck straight up-vertical, not angled forward near the head end, like the neck of a Red-throated Loon often looks.

The bill was a bit broader than the many Red-throated Loons that were nearby. It was also held level with the surface and not lifted up at the tip like many of the Red-throated Loons were showing.

The upper back was dark with no visible markings.

Same with the lower back and I never saw the rump.

This bird did not fly or even flap its' wings.

I never saw the breast, belly or undertail coverts. The flanks were also dark and there wasn't even a hint of a white area above the surface of the water anywhere near them.

The tail end of this bird was also dark.

The obvious loon to separate this loon from would be an Arctic Loon. An Arctic Loon however would be nearly twice as big as a Red-throated Loon and would show a white patch above the waterline near the rear flanks. This loon was slightly larger than the Red-throated loon and did not show a white patch. The other loon that required elimination was Red-throated Loon. Being that there were many of them to compare to this bird to, I was able to confirm this ID. The Red-throated Loons were a bit smaller, Their necks were more spindly looking and of the several adult non-breeding birds seen, there necks showed about a 2/3 white fore neck and a 1/3 dark hind neck, which is the opposite of this bird. Also, their eyes were completely in the white part of the face, not in the dark area like this bird. There were some juvenile Red-throated Loons there as well but they were ruled out due to their necks not showing any white.

Age was either non-breeding or juvenile bird but could not be certain.