At Least It Wasn't Snowing - Ludington CBC 12/19/2020

 

   Saturday December 19 was the date of the 2020 Ludington CBC.  A light mist was falling in the barely above freezing temperatures during the 2 hours that I spent driving around my assigned area.  The precipitation limited visibility as did the low cloud deck that engulfed the tops of the 300' tall wind turbines in my territory.  All that contributed to a meager 97 birds of 12 species observed during a 2 hour drive that covered 20 miles. 

    At my house however, my feeders were abuzz with activity and a few rafts of ducks were within eye and camera range to boost my bird count totals.  The highlight of my day were the two White-winged Crossbills that showed up for the ninth straight day.  It is only the 5th time that they have been recorded on the Ludington CBC.

     This year was the first time that I've seen Common Redpolls on a Christmas Bird Count.

  The ducks out on Lake Michigan totaled 636.  Lead by Long-tailed Ducks with 473, followed by Common Goldeneyes - 150 and Red-Breasted Mergansers - 13.

Mostly Common Goldeneyes

     The only raptor that I saw all day was an adult Bald Eagle that flew along the bluff at the edge of my property.

White-winged Crossbill Yardbird #150 12/11/2020

 

   Last month in a text conversation with Matt McConnell after I added my 148th species (Common Redpoll) to my yardlist, I mused about hitting 150 by the end of the year.  Matt suggested that a likely upcoming addition could be a White-winged Crossbill, which had been seen in our area. His prediction came true this morning when a female White-winged Crossbill visited my platform feeder and got me to the 150 milestone.

    Going back a couple of weeks...I was thankful for the Harlequin Duck that appeared offshore from my yard on Thanksgiving.

    I noticed the Harlequin from my dining room through my cheap vintage Celestron catadioptric telescope that I bought on ebay about 10 years ago. I have been trying to resell/unload/give the scope away almost since the moment that I unpacked it from the shipping box.  Today tragedy befell the scope after it was knocked off a dining room cabinet where I had securely placed it last night.  

  The shattered front correction plate is as serious as a broken leg to a race horse and means it has seen its last Harlequin Duck.  I took the Celestron out back and pulled the trigger on the purchase of a Swarovski 20-60x 80mm spotting scope that I've had my eye on since I moved to the lakefront last year.  The low end Celestron scope is to lemons as the Swarovski is to lemon merengue pie.