Scoter at The Lake

female White-winged Scoter

I few weeks ago, I headed over to Sheboygan to check out the lakefront. The number of Common and Red-breasted Mergansers was staggering. A hundred thousand between Sheboygan and Harrington Beach State Park was a conservative estimate.  Thousands of Greater and Lesser Scaup also dotted the lake.

Greater Scaup

Off of North Point in Sheboygan, I found the Harlequin Duck, bobbing up and down in the surf.
A few Great Black-backed Gulls flew by and a Thayer's Gull zoomed over.

Thayer's Gull

Out on the horizon, a raft of a few hundred Long-tailed Ducks bobbed around in the waves, popping up for a few seconds before dipping back into the next trough.

Long-tailed Duck

Not to be outdone, a Snow Bunting came zipping along the shore, landed for a second, then took off again.

Snow Bunting

The majority of gulls appeared to be Ring-billed

Ring-billed Gull

But a "Kumlien's" Iceland Gull was a nice find:

"Kumlien's" Iceland Gull

In all, it was a fairly cold day at the lake, but a highly productive one.

Amazingly, I haven't been over to the Mississippi River yet this year, but considering the waterfowl being reported there, that might have to be my next stop!

Til next time, Happy Birding!