11 November 2007

Highlights: BLACK SCOTER (1), SHARP-SHINNED HAWK (1)

WEATHER: Strong winds were out of the south, the skies were cloudy, and temperatures ranged from 7-8 Celsius. It didn't rain although the skies looked threatening early in the day. Visibility was moderate.

OVERALL MOVEMENT: SLOW would sum up today nicely. In fact, fewer than 60 migrants were seen total! No species was seen every hour but Long-tailed Duck and Red-breasted Merganser came the closest; seen 5 of the 8 hours. The most numerous species was Long-tailed Duck with 25 counted

DUCKS & GEESE: Although no dabblers were seen today, 1 GREATER/LESSER SCAUP was seen. Scoter numbers remained thin; only 2 WHITE-WINGED SCOTERS and 1 BLACK SCOTER were counted. Otherwise, COMMON GOLDENEYE (7), BUFFLEHEAD (10), and 25 LONG-TAILED DUCKS were counted. Over 10 RED-BREASTED MERGANSERS and a couple COMMON MERGANSERS were also tallied.

LOONS & GREBES: A couple COMMON LOONS and 4 RED-NECKED GREBES were counted. There were no sightings of Red-throated Loon or Horned Grebe today.

RAPTORS: A few hawks got up later in the count, most likely a product of the south and southwest winds we've had today. Species seen included BALD EAGLE (4), RED-TAILED HAWK (4), ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK (1), and SHARP-SHINNED HAWK (1). The 11th of November is getting pretty late for Sharp-shinned Hawk, hence the "highlight".

Some of the other species seen from the waterbird shack included BOHEMIAN WAXWING (40+), SNOW BUNTING, COMMON REDPOLL, COMMON RAVEN, EUROPEAN STARLING (1), and DOWNY WOODPECKER.

The Townsend's Solitaire was not seen today.

WEATHER FORECAST FOR TOMORROW: Scattered showers before 1pm, a strong south wind, and a high near 47. However, the winds are forecasted to shift to NW tomorrow afternoon.

Thanks for checking in,

Cory Gregory
arcticory@gmail.com