What would have been an all around crummy day on the tip of the point was given a big boost by a visit from 2 snowy owls.
Weather: Cloudy, temperatures in the mid 30s, with a pretty steady rain. Wind out of the E all day but not too strong.
Waterbird Count: Brief signs of life from the long-tailed ducks with 30 early in the day. Also 24 northern pintail, 11 common mergansers, 6 common goldeneye, 6 common loons, 4 bufflehead, 2 red-necked grebes. I also had 9 very sneaky unidentified ducks that I just barely got a glimpse of before they disappeared into the horizon.
Other Sightings: The day belonged to the beautiful snowy owls. I spotted the first one around 11:30pm while I was taking a stroll around the beach to warm up. I quickly made my way back to the scope to get a better look. First one I've ever seen, and a rainy slow day suddenly got a lot better. John, Chris and Nova showed up soon after. And following them was a second snowy! They were still hanging around the tip of the point a few hours later when we called it a day. Most of the time they were perched on logs right near the water, but occasionally were roped into a battle royale with some (bored?) crows. I was camera-less for the day; though even if that weren't the case one of mine is film and the other rubbish for bird shots. However, check the owl blog in the near future and there should be some very nice photos of the two.
Forecast for tomorrow is unfavorable at best. Temperatures steadily in the upper 30s, with a rain/snow mix the entire day. Today wasn't quite as bad as the forecast had indicated so one can only hope for the same thing tomorrow.
Andy N
Waterbird Counter
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