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.