I started this afternoon (Sat. Jan. 26) at the parking lots just south of Fort Erie near the fort and worked my way up along the Niagara Parkway (CA) to about Miller's Creek. I expected to make it to Niagara Falls, but the shear magnitude of waterfowl all along that stretch amongst the ice flows was truly amazing and kept me busy. In total, I estimated nearly 21,000 ducks from the open water at the ice boom in Lake Erie up along the west river to about the middle of Grand Island. No major rarities were seen although I can hardly say I gave the effort justice in the relatively short amount of time I was counting. The huge concentration is likely the result of the late freeze-up over the last week. If freezing continues I suspect the numbers to drop rapidly since the river itself seems to be close to freezing over in many spots as well. Get out there and see it when you can. Totals: 150 Canada Geese 16 Tundra Swans 2 Mute Swans 13900 Greater Scaup 700 Lesser Scaup 42 RING-NECKED DUCKS 800 Canvasback 200 Redhead (inc. a leucistic drake) 600 Common Mergansers 800 Red-breasted Mergansers 3 Hooded Mergansers 1400 Common Goldeneye (inc. a female with a drab all-yellow bill) 1280 Bufflehead 20 Long-tailed Ducks 2 White-winged Scoters 80 Mallard 5 Am. Black Ducks The large majority of Scaup were between the Peace Bridge and the ice boom, with nearly 60% feeding in the current with Bufflehead and RB Mergs, and the rest rafting in tight flocks between the reef lighthouse and the breakwalls on the US side. Nearly all of the Canvasback and Redhead were flocking amongst the Common Goldeneyes and Common Mergs that were feeding in the current between the Railroad Bridge to just downstream of Strawberry Island; nearly all of the Lesser Scaup were in this stretch as well. Interesting although rather gruesome was watching an adult Great Black-backed Gull fly in, attack, and then devour a drake Bufflehead near Nichol's Marina--guess they're not shy when they're hungry. Jim Pawlicki Amherst, NY If directions are needed to any of the above locations, you can e-mail me privately.
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