Colliers Mills 2/13--Merlin

What idiot would stand in a snowstorm counting 246 Ring-necked Ducks one by one?  This idiot. Easily amused as I am, I do it just to blow up the eBird filter which flags large numbers of Ring-necks, I don't know why. The phrase "Exact count" also amuses me since at any one time, about a third of diving ducks are doing exactly that and are below the surface, so 246 is definitely low. I've seen lots more than that on Turnmill Pond, where I was counting. Last year, or the year before, I had upwards of 450. For some reason, it's a gathering spot for them in mid-winter. 

I didn't expect to be taking a snowy walk at Colliers Mills. I thought the snow had stopped when I left the house. It started again at the moment I stepped out of the car. Nothing for it but to walk. I decided on a peculiar route, since I wanted to look for specific birds and/or specific spots. I started up Success Road, hoping a kestrel would be along the wires. Instead, a Merlin, high and fast, blasted through the gray sky, going north to south at speed. I've decided on the acronym YALL for these sightings: Yet Another Lousy Look. 

With a year bird on the list, I briefly considered heading for home but pushed on to the woods north of Success, looking, unsuccessfully, for a Red-headed Woodpecker. Strange to go so many times without finding one. I'm wondering if they've moved on, or if they're back in the spot I haven't felt like walking to, beyond the power line cut. Nor did I see, or hear, the Great Horned Owl that I encountered last week. In fact, it was extremely quiet in the woods except for a brief volley of tweety birds. I found that in the snow I had lost track of landmarks and had walked much farther than I usually do there before I finally turned around. 

Then I walked down Hawkin Road which skirts Turnmill. After my stop for the Ring-necked Ducks, I continued south, finally turning off the road a little over a mile on, my destination the back of a pond that I started looking at last summer, thinking (having flushed a big flock of Wood Ducks there) that it might be interesting in winter. Naturally, I'd pick the worst weather to check it out. But it was interesting. The Mallards, black ducks, and Hooded Mergansers weren't noteworthy, and there were no Ring-necks as I hoped there'd be, just to explode the filter further; instead, it was the four Tundra Swans that were unusual. It is only the 2nd time I have seen Tundra Swans at Colliers. The first time was the first time Shari & I ever went there, and they were on Success Lake.  They didn't last long. Whether they flew off because they were just visiting or because they sensed my presence I don't know, but they flew north.

I did get a better look at a Merlin. As I was driving home on East Colliers Mills Road I saw one atop a utility pole. While I didn't have my bins or my camera handy, I was able to take a poor photo with my phone. 

My walk in the snow yielded 20 species. A lot of them were heard because I didn't feel like taking my hands out of my pockets. 

Canada Goose  26

Tundra Swan  4    

Mallard  8

American Black Duck  6    Hawkin Road ponds

Ring-necked Duck  246   

Hooded Merganser  8

Mourning Dove  2

Herring Gull  16    Flyover

Downy Woodpecker  1    Heard

Merlin  1    Flyover

Common Raven  1    Heard croaking

Carolina Chickadee  2    Heard

Tufted Titmouse  1    Heard

White-breasted Nuthatch  2    Heard

Eastern Bluebird  4

American Robin  30

White-throated Sparrow  1

Savannah Sparrow  3

Song Sparrow  12

Red-winged Blackbird  1    Heard