Point Edward Day 2

Birders lined up

Did not get much sleep last night.  Who could sleep with all this howling wind? Probably the strongest sustained winds I have ever had here.

Work took a back seat today and I headed up to Point Edward mid morning.  On the way up the river I noticed some scoters, rather uncommon for the river.  Two Black and two White-winged were off the Port Lambton dock.

I arrived at the Point and took note of many birders present.  Even fellow blogger Jeremy Hatt was there!  Early birders already had Red Phalarope, Sabine's Gull and Black-legged Kittiwake plus a jaeger.
I was there for about five hours whens things seemed to drop off considerably.

Two Kittygulls

Photos of the jaeger (courtesy Josh Bouman) which I think is a Parasitic.

Most notable today was the number of Brant geese.  After some discussion there had to be around 250 present most of the day.  They would fly into the wind, and drift down with the currrent.  The geese kept coming and going, so it was difficult to judge accurately.  This is really an exceptional number for location at one time.

A few Brant

"Frankengull"

Highlights are listed in my Ontbirds posting:
(I determined there were at least 3 kittiwakes after examining my photos.  Also confirmed 2 Sabine's Gulls).

Brant (150+) --an exceptional number for location. (We usually see only a
few each fall).
Red Phalarope --seen early before I arrived.
Sanderling --many
Thayer's Gull --adult
Iceland Gull --first cycle
Lesser Black-backed --adult (?)
"Nelson's" Gull --probable and under debate --first cycle
Sabine's Gull --one juv, possibly 2.
Black-legged Kittiwake --2 or 3 juv.
jaeger sp. --1 or 2 juv --photo to be examined later.
hundreds of ducks and gulls to look at!

Typical Scene

Winds did die a bit through the day.  However, they will be strong all week from the NW, so birding can still be good.

Entrance to Yacht Club!!!