Cherry Beach birding.

Went down to Cherry Beach on Thursday evening hoping to get a year bird or two, but sadly didn't. Waterfowl and gulls were abundant, so were some sparrows. It was overcast and quite cold. The wind off the lake was very strong too. I was happy to see two Great Black-backed Gulls, only the second time I'd ever seen them!


Here's what I saw:

3 Mute Swan
15 Bufflehead
20 Common Goldeneye
1 White-winged Scoter
100 Long-tailed Duck
5 Greater Scaup
10 Red-breasted Merganser
50 Ring-billed Gull
10 Herring Gull
3 Iceland Gull
2 Great Black-backed Gull
20 American Robin
20 Red-winged Blackbird
1 Northern Mockingbird
8 Common Grackle
10 American Tree Sparrow
2 Song Sparrow
1 Downy Woodpecker
4 Black-capped Chickadee

Here are some shots!

Herring Gull, Ring-billed Gulls, Great Black-backed Gull, Long-tailed Ducks

Ring-billed Gull

Iceland Gull

Iceland Gull

Herring Gull

Common Goldeneye - it was doing a dance for the female he was with.

White-winged Scoter and Long-tailed Ducks

Jealous Red-breasted Merganser

Red-breasted Merganser and Long-tailed Ducks

Iceland Gull with Greater Scaup and Long-tailed Ducks

American Robin

Great Black-backed Gull series - the juvenile eventually won!

Northern Mockingbird - pretty happy about this, as it was shot at 1/20 of a second.

Comments appreciated!

Happy birding!

-Owen