Dead Surf Scoter on the beach.
Another cold day at the Two Mile beach today, a good day for shorbirds but with one sad note. Here are the high and low lights:
-another thousand shorebirds (conservative estimate), all Dunlins and Sanderlings;
-33 Piping Plovers, a new personal high for me. Will any stick around and nest?
-a nice group of Gannets dive-bombing offshore;
-a pair of Harlequin ducks (below) off the jetty, accompanied by hundreds of Surf and Black Scoters;
-a pair of white-tailed deer near the visitor's center;
-sadly, I spotted a Surf Scoter sitting on the beach, alive but obviously sick and unable to fly. By the time I got to it, it had died. A beautiful bird even in death (see above).
-another thousand shorebirds (conservative estimate), all Dunlins and Sanderlings;
-33 Piping Plovers, a new personal high for me. Will any stick around and nest?
-a nice group of Gannets dive-bombing offshore;
-a pair of Harlequin ducks (below) off the jetty, accompanied by hundreds of Surf and Black Scoters;
-a pair of white-tailed deer near the visitor's center;
-sadly, I spotted a Surf Scoter sitting on the beach, alive but obviously sick and unable to fly. By the time I got to it, it had died. A beautiful bird even in death (see above).
Harlequin Duck (center surrounded by Surf Scoters. (photo by author)
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