After hearing excellent trip reports I decided I couldn't pass up going to
check out the birds on the bay, so I blew off class today and headed for the
CBBT! All of the islands were very productive.
Lesser Scaups were the most numerous waterfowl species, probably over 1,000
stong,
followed closely by Surf Scoters,
Black Scoters,
and Red-breasted Mergansers, each of these species numbering in the hundreds as
well.
Other ducks included:
3 Common Goldeneye
4 Bufflehead (all females)
2 Long-tailed Ducks (a pair)
3 Ruddy Ducks
2 Redheads
1 hen Eider, mixed in with a Scaup/Scoter raft. To me it looked like a King
Eider, because it seemed to be about the same size as the Surf Scoters, and did
not seem to have the dramatically sloped head of the Common Eider. But I
didn't have a lot of time, so I'm not 100% confident in that ID.
I also found:
several Great Cormorants
2 Northern Gannets
1 Common Loon
Gulls were abundant and seemed to be mostly
Ring-billed, and
Greater Black-backed.
Ruddy Turnstones and
Purple Sandpipers were also common.
I searched hard for White-winged Scoter but found none.
All in all a very rewarding trip. Good birding!
Scott Olmstead
University of Richmond
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