Monthly Archives: April 2015

Bonaparte’s Gulls, April 25, 2015

There was a lot of activity on the lake at Montrose this morning, April 25, including good numbers of Caspian Terns, Double-crested Cormorants, and Red-breasted Mergansers. More exciting were the Bonaparte’s Gulls. In about 45 minutes I estimate I had about 200 moving north past the point, and I only stopped looking when the rain started coming down in earnest. Bonaparte’s Gulls have become rare at Montrose in the spring, so seeing this many was a pleasant surprise. I also had a single Common Loon and White-winged Scoter and flocks of Lesser Scaup. Migrant landbirds were scarce, as would be expected with northeast winds.

Red-throated Loons, April, 19, 2015

I did a brief lakewatch from the end of the fishing pier at Montrose this morning, April 19. There weren’t many birds moving but I did have 2 basic type Red-throated Loons flying north not far offshore. I think it’s getting late for this species. I also had numbers of Horned Grebes and Red-breasted Mergansers on the lake. Landbirds were scarce.