Tag Archives: White-winged Scoter

White-winged Scoter, Snow Goose, and Iceland Gull, March 11, 2017

Snow Goose

Snow Goose (click to see the larger version)

With morning temps in the teens and a wind chill even colder, today felt more like January than early March. I ended up with 23 species in about an hour and half of birding, highlighted by the continuing blue morph Snow Goose and White-winged Scoter, and a bonus adult Iceland Gull in the harbor. There were also good numbers of Red-breasted Mergansers in the harbor and in the lake just outside of the harbor mouth. I did not see the female Long-tailed Duck, which didn’t appear to be doing well when last seen. Link to my eBird checklist below.

eBird Checklist
http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S35103794

White-winged Scoters and Long-tailed Duck, February 27, 2017

I spent about an hour and a half at Montrose this morning, February 27. I haven’t been birding Montrose much this winter, but I had the day off, so I thought I’d take advantage of it. I ended up with 27 species, highlighted by 2 northbound White-winged Scoters and a drake Long-tailed Duck, both seen from the end of the fishing pier as part of a brief lakewatch. I spent most of my time checking the lake and harbor, so my landbird total isn’t that impressive, but I did see a couple of Rusty Blackbirds near the Magic Hedge and an Eastern Meadowlark in the native planting area. Link to my eBird checklist below.

eBird Checklist
http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S34839898

March 19, 2016

I spent about 2.5 hours at Montrose this morning, March 19, most of that
time looking at the lake. The visibility was good and there were birds
to look at, both on the water and flying around. Except for blackbirds
and Robins, landbirds were scarce. My highlights (not a complete list):

Gadwall – ~12
American Wigeon – 5
Redhead – ~30
Lesser Scaup – ~20
Greater Scaup – 1
White-winged Scoter – ~20
Common Goldeneye – ~12
Bufflehead – ~7
Common Merganser – 1 adult male flying north
Red-breasted Merganser – ~300
Red-throated Loon – 2 flying north, both in basic type plumage
Common Loon – 1 alternate plumaged bird flying north
Horned Grebe – ~50, most on the lake but a few in the harbor
Eared Grebe – 1 alternate plumaged bird on the lake
Great Black-backed Gull – 1 first cycle
Glaucous/Iceland Gull – 1 near adult flying north

The Eared Grebe was a big surprise. I tried to turn it into something
more expected but everything about the bird said Eared Grebe. Somewhat
surprisingly it was in full alternate plumage; most of the Horned Grebes
today were still in basic plumage or transitioning into alternate
plumage. I also had a meadowlark in the Dunes that looked good for a
Western but I let it go.

White-winged Scoter and Iceland Gulls, February 24, 2016

Montrose Waves

Montrose Waves (click to see the larger version)

The high winds and resultant high waves drove many ducks off Lake Michigan and into Montrose Harbor today, February 24. Most were Common Mergansers and Common Goldeneye but I also had one White-winged Scoter. Two adult Iceland Gulls were also in the harbor. Here’s a shot of a wave breaking over the fishing pier.

White-winged Scoters, February 16, 2016

Ice, ice, everywhere

Ice, ice, everywhere (click to see the larger version)

I walked around Montrose for a little bit this morning, February 16. It looked more like winter today than any other day I’ve been out there this winter, with ice on the lake all the way to the horizon, east, north, and south. The ice wasn’t continuous and there were scattered patches of open water here and there. In these patches were Common Goldeneye and Common Mergansers, the typical Lake Michigan winter ducks. Best were 4 White-winged Scoters that flew in and joined the other waterfowl offshore. I haven’t seen many White-winged Scoters this winter and this is the time of the year when they start to appear in numbers. Perhaps the relatively mild winter and lack of extensive ice on the lake have something to do with this. I saw nothing else of note.

White-winged Scoters and Long-tailed Duck, December 6, 2015

Montrose Sunrise

Montrose Sunrise (click to see a larger version)

I birded Montrose for about an hour this morning, December 6. Most of that hour was spent at the end of the fishing pier looking at Lake Michigan. Except for Red-breasted Mergansers not much was moving, though I did have 3 northbound White-winged Scoters. There wasn’t much on the lake either; I guess most of the expected winter waterfowl are still to the north of us and will come down with colder weather.

When I was done looking at Lake Michigan I walked over to the harbor to look for the Long-tailed Duck, and after a little searching found it in the channel between the docks at the east end of the harbor, pretty much where it’s been since it first showed up.