November 2, 2009- Canvasbacks

It felt a lot more like November today with a dark gray sky, occasional showers, and temps in the lower 40's. Winds shifted from the SE in the morning to the W in the afternoon.

Waterfowl: Another good day for numbers and variety. The highlight was 12 Canvasbacks (10 in one group and 2 in another). Although they are a common migrant south of here, they are a fairly rare bird this far north and east. Long-tailed Duck was the most common species today with 763 seen. Goldeneye and Bufflehead had another good day with 93 each. There was a great loon movement in the afternoon with 50 loons seen in the last two hours of the count. 77 Loons were seen total today- 70 Common and 7 Red-throated. Greater and Lesser Scaup, all three scoter species, Common and Red-breasted Merganser, and Horned and Red-necked Grebe were also seen today.

Gulls: An (the?) adult Great Black-backed Gull was present this afternoon and a Glaucous Gull was seen in the harbor after the count.

Shorebirds: A lone Dunlin and 6 frustrating mystery shorebirds flying too far out to ID.

Other: A late Barn Swallow zipped over the shack during the third hour.

As many of you know, I recently purchased a DLSR and zoom lens. I have been practicing using it over the past couple days and already love my new toy. Here is a picture of a female Long-tailed Duck from the harbor this afternoon:

Tom Prestby
Waterbird Counter