White-winged Scoters
White-winged Scoter (click to see the larger version)
There are still a few White-winged Scoters around. I photographed this adult male at the mouth of the harbor on March 15. These birds have been feasting on Zebra/Quagga Mussels.
There were good numbers of waterfowl at Montrose this morning, March 5, including Canada Geese, Common and Red-breasted Mergansers, Common Goldeneye, and Greater Scaup. I also had about 25 White-winged Scoters between the fishhook pier and the harbor mouth. Most of these birds were easy to see because of the extensive ice cover, forcing them into open water near shore. The video is from Montrose Harbor, where a pump is keeping a small patch of water open.
I checked Montrose this morning, March 1, to see if any of the scoters from the last few days were still around. The only sizable area of open water was off the end of the fishhook pier, which held quite a few ducks, including about 25 White-winged Scoters. It feels like deja vu all over again from last winter, except that I haven’t seen any distressed or dead ducks, so enough open water must be available to keep these birds alive and healthy.
White-winged Scoters (click to see the larger version)
The highlight of a walk around Montrose Point this morning were 40 or so White-winged Scoters, almost all concentrated in a small area of open water on the lakeside of the fishhook pier. This reminds me of what happened last winter when the lake froze over, stranding and killing many ducks. I don’t think the situation is as dire as last year but if we continue to have unseasonably cold weather it will be. I took the photo from the base of the fishhook pier; most of the birds are White-winged Scoters.
Surf Scoters (click to see the larger version)
Karen and I had 2 Surf Scoters, an immature male and an immature female, at the mouth of Belmont Harbor this morning, February 7. Both birds got up and flew north while we were watching them and may have landed near Montrose. After a long schlep up the lakefront we got to Montrose and could not relocate the birds, so apparently they kept going.
Our only other birds of note were a Red-bellied Woodpecker in the Marovitz Golf Course, a pretty good bird for the immediate lakefront, and the continuing juvenile Red-tailed Hawk at Montrose. It felt good to be out and about and feel the sun on our faces.
I had a drake Long-tailed Duck at the mouth of Montrose Harbor this morning, December 10. This looks like the same bird that was at Loyola recently. My other good bird for the morning was a flyover Common (I assume) Redpoll while looking at the Long-tailed Duck. Also, 2 lingering Ruddy Ducks and all 3 mergansers. Video of the Long-tailed below.