October 24, 2009- Shorebirds!!!

It was another chilly day with drizzle almost all day and occasional rain showers. Winds were moderate out of the west.

Waterfowl: It was another very good day, even with decreased visibility because of the drizzle. Long-tailed Ducks had another 1000+ day and Red-breasted Mergansers had a good day with just over 600 seen. The highlight though was once again the scoters. 235 White-winged and 13 Surf were seen and Black Scoters continue their banner year with 37 seen today. Another highlight was a good late-fall push of Red-necked Grebes, especially in the afternoon- 277 were seen today. Decent numbers of Bufflehead, Goldeneye, Common, and Red-throated Loons were seen today as well as a couple Scaup, Horned Grebe, and Green-winged Teal.

Shorebirds: The highlight of the day. An amazing (for late October) 7 species were seen today, all in the morning. 86 Dunlin were present on the beach with 3 Sanderling, 2 Black-bellied Plovers, and 2 White-rumped Sandpipers. A Greater Yellowlegs spent about an hour at the pond towards the tip. A weird seen in the late morning was seeing a Wilson's Snipe fly in off the lake and land in the dune next to the shack. To cap off the great shorebird morning Chris spotted a phalarope flying down the shore. Unfortunately, we could not relocate the bird when we walked to the shore to get closer. This will go down as "phalarope species" but we feel that this was probably a Red Phalarope.

Other: When we were trying to relocate the phalarope, we spotted a swift over the lake. The bird never came close, in fact if flew back out over the lake and into the fog/mist. Hawks made the afternoon fun with an adult Northern Goshawk and 3 Rough-legged Hawks coming in off the lake.

Tom Prestby
Waterbird Counter