I had a look, scoping from the lakeshore at Allan Treman State Marine Park. I don’t know the number of ducks, but there’s plenty of variety. It includes the sweep of our species in the Aythya genus, in order of abundance: Redhead, Ring-necked Duck, Greater Scaup, Lesser Scaup, Canvasback, and at least one breeding plumage male Tufted Duck. Also Mallards, and small numbers of Gadwalls, American Black Ducks, Buffleheads, Ruddy Ducks, and a male Common Goldeneye within or along the edges of the raft. Farther away from the raft are quite a few Common Mergansers and Hooded Mergansers.
Swimming and feeding near the edge of the ice shelf off Stewart Park there was a fairly small but growing number of Canada Geese with 9 Tundra Swans mixed in.
And there are 2 Horned Grebes together way out in the lake and 8 Double-crested Cormorants mostly on the Red Lighthouse Breakwater.
Gulls include lots of American Herring Gulls, at least 27 adult Great Black-backed Gulls, and some Ring-billed Gulls.
There could be other ducks or grebes or loons hiding in the raft or underwater as my scoped passed by farther out on the lake or Lesser Black-backed, Iceland or other gulls hiding in the throng on the ice.
It’s fun to look at these birds. Especially the Redheads & Mallards - very Christmas-y.
- - Dave Nutter
> On Dec 25, 2024, at 2:02 PM, Elaina M. McCartney <elaina.mccartney...> wrote:
>
> If anyone would like to get some holiday fresh air and practice counting, there are HUGE rafts of waterfowl spreading along the 800 and 900 blocks of Taughannock Blvd.
>
> Elaina
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