Friday, December 30, 2011

Lake Michigan Waterbirds - December Highlights

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For the month of December, I conducted 11 waterbird counts along the shore of Lake Michigan. The objective of these watches is to better gauge diversity, numbers, trends, chronology, and flight patterns of birds moving over the Big Lake. After November, most sightings probably represent roving winter residents, as opposed to passing migrants. Therefore, to reduce bias from local conditions and to expand geographic representation, I count from four different Muskegon County locations. Unless the weather is particularly severe, watches last at least one hour in duration.
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This past month, I encountered 24 species flying over Lake Michigan. Four were terrestrial species, and the rest were various waterbirds (including 13 species of ducks). Some peak counts included 1 Canvasback (12/17), 44 Redhead (12/17), 4 Surf Scoter (12/6), 28 White-winged Scoter (12/20), 2 Black Scoter (12/6, 12/16, 12/18), 324 Common Goldeneye (12/6), 1 Hooded Merganser (12/6), 4 Red-throated Loon (12/13), 2 Horned Grebe (12/13), 1 Cormorant (12/6), 2 Bald Eagle (12/17), 1 Rough-legged Hawk (12/17), 2 Glaucous Gull (12/22), 3 Great Black-backed Gull (12/20) and 27 Snow Bunting (12/20).
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Due to large concentrations, distance, continual back and forth movements, and short flights, Long-tailed Ducks can be difficult to count with precision and reliability. My best tally this month was 6,190 on 12/17.
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Brian Johnson
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