I got to Pipit Point just after sunrise this morning. A cold wind was blowing east-northeast, and waves were crashing onto the eastern side of the point. Fortunately, lots of birds were flying by or swimming in the water. Best sighting occurred at 8:00, when three Little Gulls appeared right off the point and about 75 meters out, flying low and into the wind. Since they were fighting the wind, it was easy to see the dark underwings. I've seen these birds in Oshawa and Niagara, but it's a new species for me on the Spit.
Other birds off the point included a Bonaparte's Gull that flew right over my head and pitched into the water on the other side, where I managed to photograph it. Also, rather surprisingly, a Greater Yellowlegs, flying and calling, and at one point a Wood Duck flew in off the lake. All the usual winter ducks were there in abundance, as well as three Common Loons. Sometime after 9:00, the wind turned around and started blowing straight out of the north, the temperature dropped, and snow began to fall.
On the way back, I saw a single Snow Bunting by the Lighthouse and found a Hermit Thrush in a wooded area. While I was admiring the thrush, a Winter Wren popped up close by and stayed immobile and out in the open for at least 10 seconds--something I'd never seen before either.
