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Hi there, I spent the weekend visiting friends in Margaretsville. Saturday was remarkably mild (+17) but became very windy by early afternoon. I went out to scan the waters, under less than ideal conditions. It was !00% overcast, windy, with quite a chop on the water which made it hard to pick things out. However, at Margaretsville there was a flock of about 200 seaducks just offshore to the west of the lighthouse; more than half were Surf Scoters, with lesser numbers of Common Eider and White-winged Scoters, a very few Black Scoters and a couple of pairs of Long-tailed Ducks. There was one Horned Grebe with a very light throat. No loons or alcids. At mid-day at Port George, there were three female Harlequin Ducks in tight against the shore just where the brook runs out through the gorge. Three fine drakes were further west along the coast, before Cottage Cove. I was delighted to see these, the first I've seen this year. There were several flocks of gulls loafing on the rocks, but nothing out of the ordinary. Although Crows and Blue Jays were everywhere, other land birds were scarce. A flock of 6 Snow Buntings flushed repeatedly from the shoulder of the road in Port George, the first of the fall for me. I went for several walks in the woods behind my friends' farm on both days. Yesterday a Ruffed Grouse exploded from the trail's edge, and I found Black-capped and Boreal Chickadees, and lots of Golden-crowned Kinglets. This afternoon I found a Gray Jay, Downy and Hairy Woodpeckers, and a Brown Creeper, but there were no Red-breasted Nuthatches, which continue to be scarce this year. This weekend I particularly noticed the absence of sparrows and finches. In my travels I saw only a couple of Song Sparrows, and a single Chipping Sparrow (I expected a Tree Sparrow, but it wasn't), and a few Dark-eyed Juncos, the latter both in Morden. There was also a flock of Robins in Morden on Sunday afternoon. Thanks to the crows and ravens which harassed them, I saw two raptors this weekend - a Northern Goshawk and a Red-tailed Hawk, both over the farm. It was interesting to read Richard Stern's account of his birding at the same locations today - what a difference a day and a night of strong winds can make! The winds must have brought those seabirds up into the bay. Cheers, Patricia L. Chalmers Halifax
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