A group of birders lucked in on a good day for an outing last Thursday - cloudy (not so much reflection on the seabirds) and cool with no more than a light breeze to chop up the waters. We headed to the Little River Ferry Terminal area, parking at the Nature Sanctuary. In the ponds here, we were treated to the sighting of Ring-necked Ducks, a male Hooded Merganser, Mallards, a far-off Great Blue Heron and juvenile Bald Eagle. Making our way through a subdivision (Dark-eyed Juncos and Pine Siskins), we found ourselves on the beach on the south side of the ferry terminal. Buffleheads, loons, Surf Scoters, White-winged Scoters, Red-necked Grebes, Red-breasted Mergansers, Common Mergansers, a Pelagic Cormorant, Scaups and Gulls were all in the distance, most only distinguishable by binoculars or camera. On the north side of the terminal, off the Little River mouth, we were able to add Trumpeter Swan (the one who remained in that area over the summer), Dunlins, Belted Kingfisher and Black-bellied Plovers to our list of birds sighted. And then, on our return to the Nature Sanctuary though bushes and grasses, we also caught sight of Spotted Towhees, Song Sparrows, House Finches and a Stellar Jay. Another good day of birding! Most photos below are on the fuzzy size due to the extreme distance involved between camera and bird, but can be used for identification purposes...
Photos were contributed by Dawn Moore and Robin Harrison
Photos were contributed by Dawn Moore and Robin Harrison