Avalon Seawatch - December 6, 2011

It was a strange day at the seawatch, with an underwhelming flight that included a few surprises. The flight started strong, with over 1,100 birds during the first hour, but then quickly dropped to under 150 birds during the second hour. This pace continued for the rest of the day, with an average of about 50 birds an hour for the afternoon.

However, there were still highlights, headlined by a surprising 10 Razorbills. Most passed by in the morning, but a closer individual was picked out by Steve Glynn during the latter portion of the day. Two more Parasitic Jaegers are certainly notable for December 6, and an additional two were seen flying north during the afternoon. Also seen flying north was a single Brown Pelican, the first I've seen in about a month, and always a notable bird in December.

Tomorrow is my day to sleep in, and that's a good thing, as it looks like there's a lot of rain in store. If you're feeling kind, consider bringing Tom Magarian some warm soup or coffee. Maybe you'll even see a Razorbill while you're there.


Northern Pintail - 2
Surf Scoter - 121
White-winged Scoter - 3
Black Scoter - 141
Long-tailed Duck - 4
Red-breasted Merganser - 1
Red-throated Loon - 515
Common Loon - 3
Northern Gannet - 837
Laughing Gull - 11
Bonaparte's Gull - 55
Ring-billed Gull - 8
Herring Gull - 8
Parasitic Jaeger - 2 (Late. Both light-morphs; one adult, one imm.)
Razorbill - 10 (Notable count. Record daily count is 19, set in 2004. Season total for RAZO now 24)

(Total = 1,721)

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