This week, we had some unfavorable weather both for the birds and the birders, with our first truly cold days, a few days with strong southerly winds, and lots of rain. We experienced quite a drop in numbers with three particularly slow days mid-week, and it was pretty uneventful overall.
We added one new species to the count this week, with our first Tundra swan on 10/31 and two more on 11/01. The only waterbirds we continue to see in large numbers are Long-tailed Ducks and Red-breasted Mergansers. We had some decent Common Goldeneye and scaup on a couple of days this week as well. Our dabbling duck numbers have been dropping for a while now, but this week, we counted less than 50 total dabblers.
Looking at previous fall counts, we are well behind the average total number of waterbirds and most species numbers, too. My initial impression is that this could be due to our above-average temperatures this fall; maybe things are still lagging behind. We only have nine days left of the count, so it will be interesting to see how our totals end up comparing to previous years.
~ Hannah Leabhart
2024 Fall Waterbird Counter
Featured photo: A Common Merganser that was hanging out close to shore during some heavy rain on 11/5. Photo by Hannah Leabhart
I have noticed a lot more male Long-tailed Ducks lately; it seemed like the flocks in past weeks were more evenly mixed. Photo by Hannah Leabhart
Common Loon stretching its wings. Photo by Hannah Leabhart
Common Mergansers (back/left) are far outnumbered by Red-breasted Mergansers now (front/right). Photo by Hannah Leabhart
