Great Egrets

The count today started out agonizingly slow.  The first bird didn’t appear until nearly the end of the first hour and then a few more trickled by after that.  The second hour proved the most interesting as a few flocks of Great Egrets flew past heading west.  Other species for the day included Red-necked Grebes, Common Mergansers, Mallards, and Common Loons.  By the way, did you know that Common Loons often times fly with their mouth open?  Check out this photo from the dim light this morning.

This is somewhat unique among Loons and can help to distinguish Common Loon from other species.  It was unfortunate that it was so dark and dismal when this bird flew by as this was a relatively close bird.  Here is a more distant one.

Although even this Loon was relatively close by waterbird counting standards.

Here is a rundown of the birds counted today.  In addition to the suspected migrants below, many Double-crested Cormorants, Ring-billed and Herring Gulls, a Great Blue Heron, and two Blue-winged Teal were seen.