The slow period finally ended today, unfortunately a day after the field trp. Thanks to Phil Odum and Matt Hegwood for joining me for 6 hours and bringing a lot of birds with them, as well as Tracy Datlen and Rick Brigham. Ducks finally began moving through in larger numbers and I had a couple first-of-the-season species — Greater Scaup and Common Goldeneye. The best sighting had to be the light morph adult Pomarine/Parasitic Jaeger which flew through and allowed for good looks. Unfortunately, it was just a bit too distant to confidently rule out Pomarine. Another highlight was a flock of 16 American Wigeon, the largest flock I’ve ever had.
Canada Goose – 22
American Wigeon – 17
Blue-winged Teal – 1
Green-winged Teal – 1
Redhead – 73
Greater Scaup – 1
White-winged Scoter – 1
Common Goldeneye – 2
Common Merganser – 6
duck sp. – 38
Common Loon – 40
Horned Grebe – 6
Red-necked Grebe – 98
Double-crested Cormorant – 48
Pomarine/Parasitic Jaeger – 1
Turkey Vulture – 9
Northern Harrier – 3
Sharp-shinned Hawk – 2
Sharp-shinned/Cooper’s Hawk – 3
Northern Goshawk – 1
Accipiter sp. – 1
Bald Eagle – 11
Merlin – 1
American Kestrel – 2
Sandhill Crane – 2
Monarch – 4
