Juvenile American Redstart that hung out all day in front of the Apartments on 1st Ave. between 7th and 8th Streets. (photo copyright Doug Gochfeld)Today started off foggy at Avalon, and stayed Overcast all day, although the lack of precipitation and not very cold temperatures made for relatively pleasant watching conditions. There was a strong early push that seemed to be mostly the residual left over from yesterday (Red-throated Loons, Gannets, White-winged Scoters). Surf Scoters were moving in impressive numbers for the date, and some notables were a single drake Northern Pinail, a Wood Duck, and 4 Laughing Gulls.
The seabird of the day however was a Gull that got away (literally, into the fog); The looks at the bird were suggestive of a juvenile Sabine's Gull, but due to the combination of distance, fog, and darkness, juvenile Black-legged Kittiwake, a much more expected species at this date, could not be ruled out with certainty. There WAS, however, a bird at the seawatch that is probably even more unusual than either of those Gulls for this particular date: none other than a juvenile American Redstart. It was calling (chip note, not flight call) for most of the day from across the street from the parking lot, and seemingly in view for much of that time.
Also of note from off the data sheet were 8 Semipalmated Plovers foraging on the jetty, and 40(!!) Purple Sandpipers. The most exciting moment of the afternon came when an adult male Peregrine Falcon came in and tried unsuccesfully to decrease that Purple Sandpiper number by one. Peregrines performing aerial displays are always a fun sight. We're now into the last week of the Seawatch, so if you've been planning on heading up there all season and just haven't made it quite yet, you've got seven more days!
Location: Avalon Seawatch
Observation date: 12/15/09
Number of species: 41
Snow Goose 5
Wood Duck 1
American Black Duck 7
Mallard 5
Northern Pintail 1
Green-winged Teal 5
dabbling duck sp. 1
Greater Scaup 4
Lesser Scaup 6
Common Eider 8
Surf Scoter 1775
White-winged Scoter 35
Black Scoter 345
dark-winged scoter sp. 48
scoter sp. 39
Long-tailed Duck 42
Red-breasted Merganser 31
duck sp. 25
Red-throated Loon 1434
Common Loon 16
Northern Gannet 881
Double-crested Cormorant 8
Great Cormorant 1
Turkey Vulture 1
Peregrine Falcon 1
Black-bellied Plover 1
Semipalmated Plover 8
American Oystercatcher 8
Ruddy Turnstone 3
Sanderling 8
Purple Sandpiper 40
Dunlin 6
Bonaparte's Gull 35
Laughing Gull 4
Ring-billed Gull 55
Herring Gull 115
Great Black-backed Gull 42
gull sp. 1 (Either juvenile Sabine's Gull or juvenile BLKI)
Rock Pigeon X
Carolina Wren 1
Northern Mockingbird 1
European Starling X
American Redstart 1 Juvenile, hung around (usually conspicuously)
between 7th and 8th street all day
White-throated Sparrow 1
Boat-tailed Grackle 8
House Sparrow 7
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