Despite another relatively slow waterbird flight I'm going consider today a treat because of the weather (especially given yesterday's nightmarish conditions and tomorrow's forecast).
Weather: Sunny, temperatures in the high 50s, with winds ESE 5-10 mph.
Waterbird Count: 69 WW Scoters, 37 RB Mergansers, 17 Common Loons, 14 Greater Scaup, 2 Double-crested Cormorants.
Shorebirds: 12 dunlins. Our visitors from Britain were observing 2 of the Piping Plovers for a while, and said they actually saw the 2 in copulation; it will certainly be interesting to see if they successfully nest on the point.
Gulls: Surprisingly the gulls seem to do a bit migrating today. I counted 15 Ring-billeds and 5 Herrings; these particular gulls were flying rather high, in flocks, and in a NE direction leading me to believe they were actually headed to Canada. There were also 27 Bonaparte's gulls.
Other Sightings: It was pretty quiet in the woods behind the shack, though the sharpies started making appearances the 2nd half of the count. An immature Bald Eagle also hung out between the harbor and the point most of the morning.
I'm thrilled to report that tomorrow is actually going to be a worse version of yesterday. 60% chance of rain, temperatures in the low 40s. The real kicker will be the W winds 25-35 mph; which will accomplish 2 things. 1) is squash any chance of a good waterbird flight, and 2) is blow 10 gallons of sand in my face. But hey, this is the life I choose.
Andy N
Waterbird Counter
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