November 4, 2009- Snow Geese

It was another very typical early November day weather-wise. Showers ended early and the rest of the day was mostly cloudy with a high in the low 40's. Winds were shifting around all day and ended up out of the SE.

Waterfowl: The highlight was a flyover by a group of 27 Snow Geese during the first hour. The vocalizing group included 15 white and 12 blue morphs. Aside from another good day by Long-tailed Duck (273) and Goldeneye (130), things were pretty quiet. An additional highlight was a mixed group of 6 Black Ducks and 4 Mallards that flew over.

Gulls: A Glaucous Gull was seen in the bay. A Herring Gull (pictured below) has joined the Ring-billeds that beg for food at the shack.

Other: A very fun day for the "other" category. Calm winds in the morning meant I could hear and see a lot of birds flying around the treeline including a Black-backed Woodpecker, a very good number of Red Crossbills (about 30), a Redpoll mixed in with a large flock of Goldfinches and Siskins, and a group of 20 Evening Grosbeaks that came in off the lake from the north.

Tom Prestby
Waterbird Counter