Red-throated Loon
The red-throated loon (Gavia stellata) is a seabird usually found in the ocean. But the pictured one was foraging in the Pamlico Sound at Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge. Loons will often be seen standing up on the water while they shake out their wing feathers after preening. Red-throated loons are great fishers. They catch their meal both by drop-diving while in flight, or diving while floating on the surface.
