Golden Eagle, Tuscola County, 3/21/09

[Jim Dawe]

Dear listers:

 

I spent the day birding the lower portions of Saginaw Bay yesterday with the highlight being an immature Golden Eagle flyover at Fish Point SWA in Tuscola County.  Otherwise, the waterfowl numbers were decent, with a total of 21 for the day - the best total number and diversity was at Pinnconing County Park in Bay County, with rafts of well over 1000 total waterfowl and 17 species; the 28 Tundra Swans there were the most I saw anywhere (including at Fish Point) so it's still pretty early.  No teal or Ruddy Ducks anywhere.

 

Other good birds:

 

Lapland Longspurs - flock of well over 50 in the fields south of Fish Point (Tuscola County) on Ringle Road just south of Loomis Road.  This is a very conservative total - they're so darn hard to see that there could have been four times that number.  There were also lots of Horned Larks and Snow Buntings there too.

 

Rusty Blackbirds - I had a flock of several hundred blackbirds near Nayangquin SWA in Bay County that was half Brewers and probably 10-20% Rusty Blackbirds, which was gratifying since Rusty Blackbird numbers are in such decline.

 

Cackling Goose - one at Shiawassee SWA in Saginaw County.  Losts of ducks and geese here, but kind of low in diversity.

 

Good birding 

 

Jim Dawe

 

 

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