The weather had calmed and cleared from the previous day, revealing ducks far and wide over the glass-like water. However, by the final hours, the wind began to pick up, and birds at further distances became harder to pick out from the rising waves. The count for today came dangerously close to yielding a list without a White-winged Scoter or Common Loon, with only lone individuals for each species seen loafing at the beginning and end of the count respectively. As the spring begins to draw to a close, the birds continue to show the signs of starting off strong for the breeding season; yet another family of Canada Geese visited the shores of McGulpin Point. Tomorrow marks the final day of waterbird counting before my return to California, and I hope the final day can bring one last surprise.
Canada Goose – 16
Greater/Lesser Scaup – 1
White-winged Scoter – 1
Long-tailed Duck – 1914
Common Goldeneye – 1
Common Merganser – 11
Red-breasted Merganser – 265
Common Loon – 1
Double-crested Cormorant – 66
duck sp. – 5
Caspian Tern – 1
Common Tern – 5
Other Species:
Great Blue Heron – 1
Turkey Vulture – 14
Bald Eagle – 2
Red-shouldered Hawk – 1
Buteo sp. – 18
Killdeer – 1
