29 March 2014 Hamilton Harbour ON.When it comes to describing disagreeable weather, surely one of the most expressive adjectives is raw: a raw wind, a raw day. It makes me shudder. Today was such a day despite our efforts to wish it a daffodil spring day; all that you could really say in its favour was that it was above zero. For migrant birds that’s good enough apparently, a quick trip along the shore of the lake and harbour turned up many birds we haven’t seen in quite a while. There must be something like an avian Berlin Airlift going on, millions of birds taking flight, heading north and with them, freedom.
I stopped at three or four windows onto the wind-torn harbour and was pleased, though not entirely surprised, to see hundreds, if not thousands, of Common Goldeneyes, Red-breasted Mergansers, Common Mergansers, White-winged Scoters and Buffleheads. But little sparkles of excitement came from spotting several Ring-necked Ducks, Canvasbacks, Hooded Mergansers and groups of Gadwall, the latter most particularly in more sheltered spots.
A sole Surf Scoter was a surprise. They’re birds of salt water so I’m pretty sure this one is a migrant on its way to the Arctic Ocean from the Atlantic . The last time I remember seeing Surf Scoters was on the Pacific coast near Vancouver, large rafts of them feeding happily until disturbed by ocean-going ships, whereupon they’d take off in rolling streams.
For a while I thought of the Surf Scoter as Bird of the Day until I found a Pied-billed Grebe bobbing around just a few yards off shore. It’s not as though Pied-billed Grebes are particularly rare, it’s that they’re curious. Late last summer I found and watched one for a long time and then, as now, was taken by how plain and well, improbable they look. Read more here.
By the time I’d enjoyed the grebe and grabbed a couple of pictures of a Black Duck, I was ready to get back in the car. On my return journey I found a small group of Northern Shovelers to round out a pretty impressive list of nineteen species of ducks and other waterfowl.
While it’s still on my mind, at my last stop, a sandy Lake Ontario beach, I watched with near disbelief, a lone surfer trying to ride the erratic waves. Working in his favour: surf of a kind driven by a strong easterly wind and a full-body dry suit. Working against him: Plates of ice along the shoreline and in the water, no covering on his face, Choose your own adjective for him.