Tuesday, April 25 started out with several reasonably close flocks of Greater Scaup flying past the tip of Whitefish Point. All but one of the five Lesser Scaup seen that day were nestled in these flocks of Greaters, making this tricky identification task a bit easier. While dabbling ducks were in short supply, a pair of Surf Scoters that flew right by the point was a pleasant surprise. This was the first sighting of this species this spring, and follows by one day the first sighting of White-winged Scoter. Then it got windy and the duck flight pretty much shut down, though Common Loons continued to trickle by, with a total of 21 seen for the day. A lone Barn Swallow battling the wind over the shoreline was a first for the spring.
Wednesday, April 26 started out foggy, very foggy. A singing Fox Sparrow and first-of-season White-crowned and Swamp Sparrows at the feeder suggested that there might be a bit of a fallout, and several Dark-eyed Juncos and White-throated Sparrows flew up off the ground as I walked out to the waterbird shack. A Vesper Sparrow, a species not often seen out on the beach, visited me at the shack. A flock of 11 Snow Buntings was a reminder that the spring season is still young. The point was mostly fog-bound all day, with the breakwall at the Harbor of Refuge coming in and out of view, but I still managed to count 20 Common Loons flying by and was entertained by a half dozen American Kestrels perching on driftwood down the beach. A flock of 16 Greater Yellowlegs was a harbinger of shorebird migration to come.
