I walked around Montrose for a little while this morning. There wasn’t a lot around, as is expected for mid January, but I did see 2 Snow Buntings on the beach inside the protected area and a White-winged Scoter just outside the entrance to the harbor. The scoter was right up against the rocks with a group of Mallards. I saw nothing else of note birdwise, though the ice formation on the beach is rather striking.
Tag Archives: Snow Bunting
December 23, 2013
I was surprised to see 4 Snowy Owls at Montrose this morning. I thought most had left but it appears more came in to replace them. Two were on the fishing pier, one was on the ice shelf at the west end of the beach, and the other was flying south over the point, almost like it was migrating. I also saw an adult or near adult Glaucous Gull flying north, the Snow Goose in the harbor, and 4 Snow Buntings and a single Lapland Longspur on the beach.
December 19, 2013
I had 2 Snowy Owls at Montrose this morning, an immature male or older female sitting on the shelf ice at the east end of the beach and an immature male or older female on one of the star docks inside the harbor. I did not see the immature female, which had been hanging around the fishing pier. I also had a Snow Bunting and Lapland Longspur flying over the beach.
Franklin’s Gulls, October 26, 2013
Karen and I spent a couple hours at Montrose on October 26.
The highlight were a 100 or so Franklin’s Gulls. Most were flying over
and continuing south but a few spent some time on the beach. The largest
flock was about 50 birds, the smallest 4. This is one of my best counts
of Franklin’s Gulls at Montrose ever, a consequence no doubt of the
recent strong westerly winds. In addition to the Franklin’s we had a
number of other birds of interest, including:
American Bittern – 1 in the dunes
Bonaparte’s Gull – 6, all first cycle birds
Short-eared Owl – 2 flying around the dunes and over the lake
Greater Yellowlegs – 1 on the beach
Wilson’s Snipe – 1
American Woodcock – 1
Lapland Longspur – 1
Snow Bunting – 2
American Pipit – 1
West winds in late October do a birder good.
March 15, 2013
Ice encrusted Montrose Beach, looking west from the fishhook pier. This is spring? (click to see the larger version)
There seemed to be some movement this morning, especially waterfowl. The slight southerly component to the wind must have done some good, though it still felt like winter. Some of the birds I saw include:
Canada Geese – ~200, in groups of 10s, 20s, and 30s
White-winged Scoter – 1
Canvasback – 6
Ring-necked Duck – 2 in the harbor
Scaup sp – ~50
Northern Shoveler – 2
Green-winged Teal – 1
Gadwall – 2
Great Blue Heron – 1
Lapland Longspur – 1
Snow Bunting – 1
Common Gallinule, November 4, 2011
Pine Siskins
The Common Gallinule was still at Montrose today. This morning it was on the beach inside the protected area at the base of the fishhook pier. It had previously been inside the boat harbor. Other birds seen at Montrose this a.m. include about 20 flyby Common Loons, 10 Snow Buntings, 8 or so Pine Siskins, and a Purple Finch. I’ve included a photo of some of the Pine Siskins.