Donna’s Sunday morning birding group was visiting the South Shore Yacht Club again this morning, so I stopped by to see who might be out on the lake. We could see a few coots out by the breakwater, and someone saw a goldeneye or two, but the big surprise for me were the dozens and dozens of red-breasted mergansers swimming, fishing, and flying about. They were all inside the breakwater but not too close to shore except for this drake.
On my way back home, I stopped by Bradford Beach, and I could see dozens more goldeneyes, but they were much too far from shore for a picture. Thankfully, there was a trio of buffleheads right near shore, two drakes and a hen, and the drakes were too busy sorting out who was who to worry about me, so I was able to sneak this picture of one of them.
I still didn’t have much to show for my morning, and it wasn’t very late yet, so I stopped in at good ol’ Estabrook Park to see if anyone was still around. The owls were crazy hidden this morning, but as I tried to find a good vantage point, I caught a glimpse of a red-tailed hawk making an unsuccessful try for our belted kingfisher. After coming up empty, the hawk moved on before I could get close enough for a picture, but the kingfisher went right back to filling his belly, and here he is looking for his next fish.
Finally, as I was hiking back south, I found that we had a red-breasted merganser of our own floating with the mallards just off the southern tip of the southern island, and here he is.
If only he could have convinced a goldeneye to come with him. Maybe next time.
Signs of Life in Estabrook Park 