River Ramble February 11

Today was one of the better days along the St. Clair River.  I spent almost 6 hours and only went to Corunna (Guthrie Park).  Ducks and gulls were numerous all the way along!
I did not see the Trumpeter Swans along the Snye River, but came upon 3 between Port Lambton and Sombra.  They were in mid-river and lighting was poor, so I did not get decent photos. Not sure if these were the same ones, but I thought there were two adults and one immature.
About 30 Tundra Swans were at the head of Fawn Island.

At the north end of Port Lambton, a Great Blue Heron was standing on the ice.  It was actually the first one I have seen this calendar year.  They certainly left early this winter!

Sombra area was good with lots of gulls.

Cathcart Park was once again busy with waterfowl.  It took a while to sort through them.

At Lambton Generating Station a multitude of gulls was riding ice floes in mid-river.  Included was an adult Lesser Black-backed.  I only got a "record" photo, as usual!

Four White-winged Scoters were off the intake of the plant.  There were numerous scoters in the river today, but it has been a good winter for them.  I heard that all three types were at the mouth of Lake Huron today.

Guthrie Park at the north end of Corunna was certainly the hotspot again where I spent almost two hours. A continuous raft of mixed ducks was along the shoreline.

Upon arrival, I spotted a female Ruddy Duck which hung around the whole time.  White not generally rare in winter, a Ruddy is a novelty on the river during winter.

A large concentration of Common Goldeneye, as well as Long-tailed Ducks was in mid-river.  I tried to find a Barrow's, but no luck!  We had one here last year.

Gulls were numerous and another Lesser Black-backed was riding an ice floe.  It had a slightly darker mantle than the others I have seen.

Among the many Herring, were at least four Iceland and two Glaucous.

Iceland Gull

With all the gulls this year, there have not been many of the white-winged variety.

I saw none of the Aythya hybrid ducks, but did find the usual Mallard X Black.  It was the second of the day with the other at Sombra.

Several White-winged Scoters were here as well.  I counted nine at one point.

Four White-winged Scoters

It was nice to look at the constant raft of ducks close to shore.

At Port Lambton, just before going home, I spotted the third Lesser Black-backed of the day towards the US side.

All-in-all it was an excellent day and perhaps I will head out again tomorrow!