Busy day at McGulpin today, with strong west winds and rain throughout. It was a big movement day for a lot of ducks, with the primary species being Red-breasted Mergansers. Buffleheads and Common Goldeneye were also moving in small numbers today, which was the first real push of either species that I’ve seen so far this season. A snow bunting also showed up on the beach – another sign of winter finally approaching.
The constant rain of the last few days hasn’t been kind to my elderly scope, fogging the inner lenses, so most of the identification was done using binoculars only. Hoping that some TLC will take care of the issue and get it back up and functional before too long!
Canada Goose – 6
Aythya sp. – 153
Surf Scoter – 3
White-winged Scoter – 61
Surf/Black Scoter – 1
Scoter Sp. – 10
Long-tailed Duck – 77
Bufflehead – 17
Common Goldeneye – 8
Common Merganser – 24
Red-breasted Merganser – 258
Merganser sp. – 226
Duck sp. – 949
Common Loon – 1
Double-crested Cormorant – 9
Ring-billed Gull – 4
Herring Gull – 1
Other species:
Bald Eagle – 3
American Crow – 3
Snow Bunting – 1
