Date: 1/6/25 9:12 pm From: Barbara Volkle <barb620...> Subject: [MASSBIRD] 1/5 Counting Long-tailed Ducks on Deer Island at Dusk, etc.
Thanks to Paul Peterson for this report.
Barbara Volkle Northborough, MA <barb620...>
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Date: Tue, 7 Jan 2025 01:09:37 +0000 (UTC) From: Paul Peterson <petersonpaul63...> Subject: 1/5 Counting Long-tailed Ducks on Deer Island at Dusk, etc.
As I got to the tip of Deer Island, it was 4:10, and a few Long-tailed Ducks were already rounding the tip to get to their night roost. This phenomenon has been going on for at least ten years. (that's when I discovered it). Since I was at that place at that time, I decided to count them all. This went on from 4:10-4:38, after which, there was no more movement. Birds came in singles, doubles, sevens, in twenties, etc.My tally was two hundred and thirty-eight ducks:
Common Loon 2 Red-throated Loon 4 rounding tip of island singly Brant 60 Mallard 16 Long-tailed Duck 238 Black Scoter 47 most chilling at the tip Surf Scoter 60 heading to roost near sunset; several groups; guess (I was focused on the L.T.D White-winged Scoter 15 Common Eider uncountable; several good-sized rafts out from three yellow tanks Common Goldeneye 5 Bufflehead 7 Red-breasted Merganser 6 Iceland Gull 1 + adult flying over water cooling things; also seen near tip ocean side Common Raven 1+ Red-breasted Nuthatch 1 Snow Bunting 12 Yirrel Beach
