Sea Watch Thursday November 25, 2010

The Thursday flight at Avalon was an extremely enjoyable one. Between both the excellent diversity and numbers, there was something (or more) for everyone. The character of the flight was very interesting in that there was a distinct dichotomy between the morning and the afternoon. The first half of the day saw large numbers of Northern Gannets hauling ass southbound, along with a good Dabbling Duck (for the date) and Aythya (including a drake Redhead in a small group of Scaup) flight.
The name of the game in the afternoon, however, was Gulls. Gulls, Gulls, and more Gulls. Ring-billed Gulls, Laughing Gulls, and Bonaparte's Gulls were moving in great numbers, and an adult Black-headed Gull added some foreign spice to the bouquet. 3 Parasitic Jaegers also passed by (two adult/sub-adults, and one juvenile), including two in quick succession during the afternoon Gull flight.

The Seawatch is most definitely cooking, and Steve's report from Friday will be more proof of that, so keep an eye out for it!

Total Individuals Counted: 21,119

Location: Avalon Seawatch
Observation date: 11/25/10
Notes: Overcast all day, scattered showers in middle of the day. Light and
variable winds.
Number of species: 59

Snow Goose 42
Brant 2
Canada Goose 22
American Black Duck 83
Mallard 42
Northern Shoveler 19
Northern Pintail 8
dabbling duck sp. 5
Redhead 1
Ring-necked Duck 51
Greater Scaup 120
Lesser Scaup 31
Greater/Lesser Scaup 9
Aythya sp. 43
Common Eider 11
Harlequin Duck 1
Surf Scoter 1436
White-winged Scoter 69
Black Scoter 1433
Surf/Black Scoter 799
scoter sp. 1308
Long-tailed Duck 11
Bufflehead 1
Common Goldeneye 2
Hooded Merganser 17
Red-breasted Merganser 153
duck sp. 77
Red-throated Loon 3167
Common Loon 5
Red-necked Grebe 2
Northern Gannet 8784
Double-crested Cormorant 400
Great Cormorant 1
Great Blue Heron 6

Semipalmated Plover 7
Killdeer 1
American Oystercatcher 14
Ruddy Turnstone 2
Sanderling 12
Purple Sandpiper 16
Dunlin 200
Bonaparte's Gull 458
Black-headed Gull 1
Laughing Gull 717
Ring-billed Gull 1513
Herring Gull 250
Great Black-backed Gull 13
Forster's Tern 3
Parasitic Jaeger 3

Rock Pigeon X
American Crow X
Cave Swallow 3
Red-breasted Nuthatch 1
Golden-crowned Kinglet 1
American Robin X
Northern Mockingbird X
European Starling X
Yellow-rumped Warbler 1
Song Sparrow 2
Dark-eyed Junco 1
Red-winged Blackbird X
House Finch 2
Pine Siskin 2
American Goldfinch X
House Sparrow X

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