Avalon Seawatch - December 12, 2011

[Today's Seawatch quiz bird; answer provided under the day's totals. Photo by Sam Galick.]

Light north to northeast winds and hazy sunshine presided over another decent late-season flight past Avalon. Red-throated Loons and Northern Gannets provided the steadiest activity, particularly during the first hour after sunrise. Smaller numbers of scoters, including a nice proportion of White-wingeds, were also fairly steady throughout.

The day was also filled with some surprises, including an adult Black-headed Gull that made a brief appearance at 9:40am, and a pair of Canvasbacks that were among a flock of Black Scoters. However, top prize goes to a/the Humpback Whale that made several appearances between the 6-buoy and the 8th Street jetty during the late-morning.

[Humpback Whale near the 8th Street jetty late this morning. Photo by Sam Galick.]

The whale was relatively close, as can be seen in the photo above, and was occasionally engaged in flipper-slapping when it surfaced. It was a great show, and hopefully we'll have more sightings before the season ends.


Brant - 9
American Wigeon - 2
American Black Duck - 24
Green-winged Teal - 35
Canvasback - 2
Greater Scaup - 22
Lesser Scaup - 54
Common Eider - 22
Surf Scoter - 433
White-winged Scoter - 82
Black Scoter - 799
dark-winged scoter - 302
scoter, sp. - 253
Long-tailed Duck - 43
Bufflehead - 7
Red-breasted Merganser - 1
Red-throated Loon - 1,078
Common Loon - 5
Northern Gannet - 1,441
Double-crested Cormorant - 43
Great Cormorant - 8
Laughing Gull - 1
Bonaparte's Gull - 111
Black-headed Gull - 1
Ring-billed Gull - 185
Herring Gull - 84

(Total = 5,046)

[Quiz answer: Common Eider! Upwards of 30 Common Eiders collected
along the seawall over the course of the day, providing great
looks and photo opportunities. Photo by Sam Galick.]