Monday, October 19, 2009

October 19, 2009- Jaeger

It was another day of strong south winds and mostly cloudy skies. This time there was a decent waterbird movement in the morning despite the winds.

Waterfowl: Apretty good morning but a very slow afternoon. Highlights were about 100 scaup, 6 Redhead, and 20 scoters (18 White-winged, a Surf, and a Black). Red-breasted Mergansers and Long-tailed Ducks had a poor day with 73 and 29 of each respectively. Horned Grebes put in a good showing with a dozen and modest numbers of Red-necked Grebes and Loons were seen. A few dabblers were seen with Mallard being the most common (14).

Gulls/Jaegers: A jaeger was seen harassing a gull during the second hour of the count but it was way too far to tell what kind. A possible second jaeger was with the bird but because of distance this was not confirmed. 7 Bonapartes Gulls were seen-- the highest count in what has been a terrible fall for them so far.

Other: The highlight of the day was 3 Goshawks making frequent passes along the treeline and over the beach, one of which was an adult. 26 Ravens were seen at once this morning which seemed odd. Chris found a Dickcissel near the parking lot in the morning and this bird moved to the feeders later in the day.

Tom Prestby
Waterbird Counter

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