Birdwalk Highlights for 1/17: Winslow Park.

Dead calm conditions made for perfect viewing of waterbirds at Winslow - comfortable, too! - especially when the light snow came to an end. It was just a delightful morning at the park!

Of course, the highlight as always were the BARROW'S GOLDENEYES here, with 3 males and 1 female being spotted today. One of the drakes was fairly close, but the other three were at the "identifiable" distance. The pair was among 60 COMMON GOLDENEYES, which made for a nice comparison.

LONG-TAILED DUCKS (~40) were another highlight, with lots of vocalization and courtship activity observed at the point. Other waterbirds tallied today included 156 MALLARDS, 125 BUFFLEHEADS, 40 COMMON EIDERS, 30 HERRING GULLS, 12 AMERICAN BLACK DUCKS, 10 RING-BILLED GULLS, 9 COMMON LOONS, 8 RED-BREASTED MERGANSERS, 3 SURF SCOTERS, 1 RED-THROATED LOON, and 1 lone GREAT BLACK-BACKED GULL.

Landbirds were very sparse today, however: 6 HOUSE FINCHES, 4 AMERICAN CROWS, two each of NORTHERN CARDINAL, TUFTED TITMOUSE, BLACK-CAPPED CHICKADEES, and WHITE-BREASTED NUTHATCH, plus a single SONG SPARROW.