October 21, 2009- Long-tailed Duck movement

Winds were light to moderate out of the NE today and cloudy skies gave way to a steady drizzle and then light rain in the afternoon.

Waterfowl: The "waterbird count" was a Long-tailed Duck count today. "Oldsquaws" were moving steadily throughout the day with more than a hundred seen every hour except the last hour of the count. 2158 Long-tails moved by today and it's a shame that the rain started in the afternoon because this drastically reduced visibility, which probably reduced the amount of Long-tails that were detected. The other highlight was a few Red-throated Loons that were still in breeding plumage that flew right down the shore in the afternoon. Otherwise, only a handful of other species were seen.

Shorebirds: A group of 10 Dunlin flew by during the third hour.

Other: A dozen Snow Buntings joined the group of Horned Larks, Pipits, and Lapland Longspurs on the beach. A Sharp-shinned Hawk was seen for the first time in a couple weeks.

Tom Prestby
Waterbird Counter