ARDEA HERODIAS

Took picture of this Loon at Pinchot early last month 

Headed to the lake early Monday morning, looking for this guy's buddy, the illusive Blue Heron. 

The Loon in the picture is fascinating to watch. When they are not flying just above the water, they are swimming under the water. I have chased these birds with the boat, and they go under water for minutes and surface again really far from where they dived. Many times they've gone under and I never could tell where they surfaced. 

(not sure who comes up with this stuff, but I made the title to this post the scientific name for blue heron)