Lake Simcoe - Pacific Loon, Little Gulls etc.

I decided to head up to Minet's Point on Kempenfelt Bay to try and find the Pacific Loon(s) that had been reported a few days earlier.  Although they hadn't been reported in a couple of days, I figured that they were still around.  It was this weekend last year that I went up to try to find the very same birds and was successful.

When I got to Minet's Point, the sun was shining and steam was rising from the lake surface into the frosty air.  I scanned through the flock of hundreds of Common Loon several times but was not able to spot any Pacific Loons.  I took a bathroom break in the nearby port-a-potty and then came back for another try.  This time I spotted a smaller loon with a narrow, pointy bill diving with a group of Common Loons.  The silvery nape and back of the head confirmed Pacific Loon!  Unfortunately it was too far away to get any pictures.

Common Loons

 I also saw some Little Gulls flying around Kempenfelt Bay!

Little Gull - note the dark underwings

 I like the shot below.  Three species are present in this photo- our largest gull species Great Black-backed Gull next to one of our smallest - Bonaparte's Gull.  A few Herring Gulls are also in the background.

I tried to get a shot of the Bonaparte's Gulls diving for fish, but all I got was this bird under water!

Here are a couple shots of the two Pacific Loons I saw on Kempenfelt Bay last year:

Pacific Loon (2015)

Pacific Loon (2015)