September 6, 2009- Franklin's Gull

It was another gorgeous day today and thankfully the fog was not very bad in the morning. There was thick haze but it didn't limit the visibility nearly as bad as the fog did yesterday.

Waterfowl: It seemed like a slow day but when all of a sudden done it was a very good day for dabblers, especially teal. 108 Green-wingeds were counted which beats last years high count and 103 Blue-wingeds was also very respectable. Other dabblers were 13 Shovelers, 9 Wigeon, 7 Mallards, and a Gadwall. Other than Common Loons (31 seen today), divers were disappointing with only 30 Red-necked Grebes. A group of 6 Horned Grebes was the biggest group of that species I have seen yet and accounted for all of the day's Horned Grebes.

Gulls/Terns: The highlight of the day was a Franklin's Gull that flew in during the second hour. It milled around with the Ring-billeds for a while before working its way down towards the harbor. It appeared to be a very worn adult, one poor picture is below. Common Terns put in a very good showing today with 92 including a flock of 64 and a flock of 26.

Shorebirds: Overall, very quiet. 3 American Golden and 1 Black-bellied Plover saved the day from being a complete shorebird bust. I believe it was the first peepless day of the fall.

Other: A Bobolink was heard flying over and a female/young male Red Crossbill gave a low flyover.

Tom Prestby
Waterbird Counter