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| Dec 13 2011 -- Purple Sandpiper |
On the drive down, I was happy to find a flock of about 70 Snow Buntings and three Horned Larks.
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| Snow Buntings |
It was the coldest day that I had been there yet, with a nice breeze coming in off of the lake. My first stop was at the lighthouse, where I had a good look for the Barrow's Goldeneye but came up empty handed. On the drive to the lighthouse, I scanned the Long-Tailed Ducks, Buffleheads and Common Goldeneye for anything different and was rewarded with a single White-winged Scoter. There was a lone Brown Creeper at the parking lot.
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| White-winged Scoter |
As I arrived at Owen Point, I noticed a Snowy Owl standing on the ground behind the patch of bushes at the Point.
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| Female Snowy Owl |
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| Snowy Owl tracks |
As I took a couple of pictures of it, I noticed two Northern Harriers flying toward shore from the Islands. Almost immediately afterwards two Snowy Owls flew by, followed by a third a couple of minutes later. A quick scan of Gull Island revealed a fifth Snowy Owl! The last one was just sitting on a duck blind.
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| Snowy flying past Owen Point |
The crossing to Gull Island was starting to become interesting as the ice built up along the shoreline. The current is fairly swift with large chunks of ice flowing through. As I was crossing I watched the Gull Island Snowy make a failed attempt on some Long-Tailed Ducks near the shoreline. It glided right along the ground and then water before the ducks saw it at the last second and dove. Judging by the pairs of duck wings strewn about the island, these attacks are often successful. I found it again sitting on a duck blind on High Bluff Island.
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| High Bluff Island Snowy |
There was a large flock of about 70 American Black Ducks in between High Bluff and Gull Island with a few Mallards mixed in. A third Northern Harrier flew past. Gulls were non-existant in the park with only a couple of distant Ring-Billeds flying by. During the walk back to the car I came across two of the Snowy Owls that had flown past me at Owen Point.
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| Female Snowy |
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| Older female Snowy? This bird had large complete bands on the tail but also an extensive bib. You be the judge. |
As I was almost back at the car, I came across a Northern Shrike. A nice way to end the hike.
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| Northern Shrike -- Not a good picture |
That was about it for the day. I did stop and examine a flock of European Starlings on a power line just outside the park and found five Brown-Headed Cowbirds, the first that I've seen this winter.
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