A good concentration of ducks is presently at Mitchell's Bay. Now that most of the ice has disappeared (more is farther out), thousands of ducks can be seen off the park right in the village of Mitchell's Bay. It has been open for several days.
This evening I ventured out to see what was around. The vast majority of ducks seem to be Canvasback with most other types mixed in. I estimated around 12,000 Canvasback, but could be more.
Other birds are around of course, including shorebirds, gulls, geese and eagles. I only saw one Horned Grebe and it was one of the closest water birds.
There were two Lesser Yellowlegs and one Greater Yellowlegs plus a few Killdeer in the shorebird department.
Lots of Bonaparte's Gulls were swimming with the ducks, so it was difficult to pick out anything unusual.
I drove down Angler Line as well, but it was starting to get dark. I saw my first Great Egret of the year.
Morning would be better for lighting, but tonight, it clouded up a bit and visibility was pretty good.
The area certainly offers lots of potential and has been under-birded in the past. Last fall saw lots of birder activity due to the Snowy Egret and Marbled Godwits. It all started with that Purple Sandpiper!
Seemed strange not seeing a Marbled Godwit tonight!
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