Strong westerly winds all day brought some pretty good movement. It was my best day for Common Goldeneyes thus far. I saw a lot of raptors kettling across the Straits, but never ended up seeing many cross except a few Bald Eagles. Over the past few days I’ve seen some dead waterbirds floating in the lake, usually being picked at by Herring Gulls. It’s possible these birds are victims of botulism, or perhaps were killed by duck hunters — ideally the latter. The deceased birds have been primarily Long-tailed Ducks and a single White-winged Scoter.
American Black Duck – 2
Mallard – 3
Redhead – 110
Greater/Lesser Scaup – 5
White-winged Scoter – 86
Long-tailed Duck – 166
Bufflehead – 18
Common Goldeneye – 109
Common Merganser – 7
Red-breasted Merganser – 101
Common/Red-breasted Merganser – 9
duck sp. – 467
Red-throated Loon – 1
Common Loon – 16
Horned Grebe – 2
Double-crested Cormorant – 1
Bonaparte’s Gull – 1
Bald Eagle – 9
