The Loons are catching on in Tampa Bay

OK, so I showed my daughter what a loon looked liked.  She spotted one yesterday in a Tampa Bay body of water and of course, I quizzed her on how sure she was that  it wasn't a cormorant, annhinga, grebe, or surely a merganser. She hesitated and said it was a loon.  So, today, Easter Sunday we set sail on Tampa Bay for a perfect 80 degree day with light easterly winds around 10 knots and less.  She spots two birds and said, "there is a loon!" and I see the other bird a cormorant and luckily I didn't say anything until my binoculars fell upon the second bird a juvenile loon who hesitated flapped its wings and then dove for food not to be seen again.

Thank you Earthwatcher scientists, Andrew East and Darwin Long IVth for teaching me the difference. A confirmed April 8th loon in Tampa Bay.   This day's sightings confirmed my observations of 8 loons on Dec 26th, 2011 while sailing across the same bay early on a foggy morning.  I hope this is the first on many sightings to be reported on wintering loons in Tampa Bay.

Summary of the Gulf of Mexico

This is a photo taken by Susan Walker on the Loon trip and it pretty much summarizes the Gulf of Mexico.
Wetlands: in the foreground are spectacular and is the basis of supplying the richness of marine life that we all enjoy and feeds us fresh seafood everyday.  The existing delta is spectacular but disappearing.
Wildlife: You have to look for wild animals but they are there. If you look closely at this photo you will see 3 white ibis sitting on the barbed wire fence.  The loons are difficult to find but are spectacular.  Seeing over a thousand birds in one small area in Venice was unforgettable. BUT they were sandwiched in between a marina and this oil facility.
Human Impact: Our human imprint in the Delta is omnipresent. The levees that hold back the Mississippi River so our goods and ships can pass port to port create the only land for people to live on. A small precarious strip of land several hundred feet wide. And even at night in the total darkness of the beautiful bays of the Delta there is the twinkling of the lights out in the Gulf of Mexico that is a continuous-forever-as far as the eye can see, a sea of the oil rigs. Thousands of them helping me drive home to Tampa with my memories of the Loons of the Mississippi Delta.