August 18, 2009

It was another very pleasant day with temps near 70 and partly sunny skies. I know I'll pay for this later in the fall! The winds started light out of the south but switched to fairly strong out of the west. As the winds switched, the waterbirds started moving east and south over the lake.

Waterfowl: The best day yet for Red-necked Grebes and Common Loons with 255 and 17 respectively. A smattering of Blue-winged Teal (43 total) mixed in with the grebes and the first flock of Green-winged Teal of the fall (19 birds) flew by. Other species included 2 Horned Grebes, 4 Red-breasted Mergansers, and 5 migrating DC Cormorants.

Shorebirds: A fairly quiet day for them. 27 Sanderling, 5 Semipalmated Sandpipers, 2 Bairds Sandpipers, and 2 Semipalmated Plovers worked the bay side of the point all day. A Solitary Sandpiper and the first Killdeer of the fall count were heard overhead.

Gulls/Terns: 9 Common Terns was it besides the normal Ring-billed and Herrings.

Other: It was the best day yet for passerines as several were heard coming in off the lake in the early morning. A small flock near the Merlin pole included 15 Palm Warblers, 5 Yellow-rumped Warblers, and 2 Blue-gray Gnatcatchers.

The Waterbird Shack

Tom Prestby
Waterbird Counter