Gale-force winds (temporarily) felled the shack this week…
October is an easy month to love at the Point. Each morning, I gear up in the parking lot, entertaining unrealistic fantasies of what might fly by the count (or perch on the Merlin pole…) It is a favorite time of day–the sky is colorful, the world quiet, the not knowing what the day might (or might not) bring is delicious.
On one such morning last week, my boyfriend Tripp and I walked out towards the Point. I was deep in thought about birds I’d like to see out here, especially the far-fetched ones like alcids and eiders, and generally excited to start the day’s count (each day this week has tallied over 1,000 waterbirds!). I rounded the last bend in the boardwalk to see the shack belly-up on the beach, victim of gusting gale-force winds the night before. As I was saying, one never knows what a day might bring out at the Point…
There was no time to despair: the weather was forecast to turn ugly soon, and the prospect of counting against a sideways shack, in sideways rain, entirely lacked appeal. Fortunately, there was no reason to despair, either, for Tripp is a professional rigger and a first-class problem solver. Within a couple hours, thanks to Tripp’s scheming (and the muscle of WPBO staff and visitors), the shack had been resurrected, and its anchors reset. Apparently, this is not the first time the waterbird shack has blown over. Perhaps, though, this is the first time it has been recovered: I’ve been told that in years prior, twice, it disappeared into the lake…
Shack aside, it truly has been a stellar week at the waterbird count. As mentioned above, there hasn’t been a day with less than a thousand waterbirds–in fact, today, 25 October, has been the biggest flight this week. (3,615). Red-breasted Mergansers have proved the most numerous species this period: the 22nd, 23rd, and 25th all saw flights of over a thousand. Moving consistently, but in smaller numbers, are White-winged and Black Scoters, Long-tailed Duck, and Bufflehead. Aythya are noticeably tapering (though last Saturday, 10-19, eighteen Canvasback were a nice treat!), and Common Goldeneye are picking up.
Numbers aside, highlights from the last week include Pacific Loons on the 18th and 20th and our season’s second Sabine’s Gull (a juvenile) on the 19th. I’m looking forward to finding out what this next week will bring; hopefully, you are, too!
–Alison Vilag, WPBO Waterbird Counter
