A New Year in Old Haunts

It's a new year, so naturally I am birding at my old haunts-Shelburne Bay and the Shelburne Town Beach, partly to prepare for tomorrow's GMAS field trip. As usual, the ice shelf at Shelburne Bay follows the whims of the weather. Last week it was nonexistent; today it extends far out into the bay. No matter. Hoards of Common Mergansers are swimming at the edge of the ice and a sizeable flock of Ring-billed Gulls is resting on the ice itself. Hopefully, there will be a greater variety of birds tomorrow, but it's a start.

Shelburne Town Beach is better. In addition to 100 Common Goldeneyes I picked out Common Mergansers, Hooded Mergansers, American Black Ducks, Mallards, Bufflehead, and Horned Grebes. Not to mention a huge flock of Wild Turkeys in the field near Wake Robin. We should be OK tomorrow. Time will tell.