Eider Way

I was not sure which way to go this morning.  It was eider one way or the other.  Given the nice weather (for a change), I opted to head north to the St. Clair River and look for a rare duck.
Last Monday when the weather turned nice after the weekend (as usual), a King Eider was found at Corunna by Sean Jenniskens.  It is not often we see this species in our area and certainly not every year.
I basically headed straight to Guthrie Park north of Corunna.  Lighting was superb and it did not take long to find the young male King Eider.

It was not too far off shore, luckily. But, still a bit far for my camera.

I think this is the first one I have seen IN the river.  I have seen several over the years at the mouth of Lake Huron.  Those were all female types in the late fall, with the exception of one first year male in 2004.  In 2004, there were at least two King Eiders, a male and female.

Eider Down!

Today, there were not a heck of a lot of birds off Corunna. 

Gull numbers have dwindled, but there seemed to be more farther south.
Most were off OC Industries and Cath's Cart Park.

Chances of finding an Ivory Gull this winter are slipping by!

After watching the King Eider, I went over to Perch Creek Habitat and walked for over an hour.  As expected, there were very few birds to be found.  However, it was good to take a long walk in nice weather.

Perch Creek Habitat