There were hundreds of Red-necked Grebes strung out along the eastern side of the Spit on Sunday morning, all the way from near the entrance gate around to the Lighthouse and beyond. Sibley's second edition notes that these birds are "Essentially silent except on breeding grounds," but yesterday many of them were singing, a mournful, braying sound that brings to mind secluded northern lakes. I saw a couple of Horned Grebes as well.
The highlight of the day was probably the first-of-year Eastern Meadowlark that flew overhead, going from south to north along the causeway and making me wonder if it had just come in off the lake. The pair of Ravens were quite active between 8:30 and 9:00 a.m. and actively harassing the juvenile Red-tailed Hawk that hangs out on the edge of the Wet Woods.
Aside from that, it was a great day for ducks, including Ring-necked, Canvasback, Wood Duck, and American Wigeon. The numbers of White-winged Scoters have gone way down but I saw a couple of hold-outs off Pipit Point and in Cell 3. There were American Crows and an Eastern Phoebe in the Owl Woods.
