Today Cory and I had a day off, and even though it rained, we trekked through wind and rain to hike around Abbott's Lagoon in Point Reyes. We first arrived at the trailhead around 9:30 in the morning. We hiked by the lake finding birds such as
Mute Swan, Cinnamon Teal, Ruddy and
Ring-necked Duck, Thayer's Gull (and six other gull species),
Wilson's Snipe, Pacific, Red-throated, and
Common Loon and
Black-crowned Night-heron among other birds.
Although it was overcast, it was relatively calm and rain-free for the first hour or so of our hike. Albeit, by the time we got to the lagoon the wind was gusting strongly and whipping rain at our faces. It was the kind of rain that stings a little as it blows into your face - small, thin drops that come almost sideways.
Eared Grebes were the most common grebe on the lagoon.
American White Pelican, Sanderling, plenty of
Ruddy Ducks, Canvasback, more gulls, loons,
and grebes, and some
American Pipits, Yellow-rumped Wablers, and several sparrow species were all present. Our main target species, though, was Tufted Duck, and we couldn't seem to find it.
Hiking around the lagoon was arduous to say the least, and the apprehension of missing our target bird almost caused us to turn around at several points. Instead we complained profusely about the rain, wind and long walk through soft sand. However after walking all the way around the lagoon and scoping time and again, but not seeing anything that so much as resembled a Tufted Duck (except one Ring-necked Duck which caused us to doubt the presence of the bird at all!), we came to a bench. So we sat and scoped. Visibility was moderate at best, but we scanned across our side of the lagoon looking at
Common Goldeneye, Canvasback, Green-winged Teal, and the lone
Ring-necked Duck. Finally we spotted the bird. "Oh my god," I said, "I'm looking at the Tufted Duck!" The bird was diving actively, spending only a few seconds above water at a time, making it extremely difficult to follow, and get Cory on. Eventually we were both looking at the bird. A small, although obvious, tuft hanging off the back of the head, whitish-gray flanks with a dark-brown to black back were the field marks we used to ID this bird.
We sat for a while in the rain, water soaking through our rain gear in parts, and watched the
Tufted Duck. Eventually we stood up and hiked all the way back around the lagoon. On the way back a flock of
Black-bellied Plovers set down for a few minutes on the beach. Finally we got back to the car exhausted and soaked. On the drive out we had a
Ross' Goose and four
Snow Geese in with a flock of
Canada and
Greater White-fronted Geese. Then we headed to Marin Sun Farms in Point Reyes Station and ate the best cheeseburgers of our lives!!!
Good birding! Sorry about the severe lack of photographs but unfortunately cameras and rain don't mix too well. Our complete list is below.
Pt. Reyes--Abbotts Lagoon, Marin, US-CA
Jan 19, 2012 9:20 AM - 1:35 PM
Protocol: Traveling
2.5 mile(s)
Comments: Rainy, windy, and poor visibility, but we still managed to find some good birds!
61 species (+2 other taxa)
Greater White-fronted Goose 15
Snow Goose 4
Ross's Goose 1
Canada Goose 75
Mute Swan 1
Gadwall 2
American Wigeon 10
Mallard 20
Cinnamon Teal 1
Northern Shoveler 20
Northern Pintail 7
Green-winged Teal 50
Canvasback 40
Ring-necked Duck 10
Tufted Duck 1 small, though obvious, tuft, whitish flanks, dark back, no spurs - originally found on Point Reyes CBC (?)
Surf Scoter 35
Bufflehead 40
Common Goldeneye 10
Red-breasted Merganser 6
Ruddy Duck 150
California Quail 1
Red-throated Loon 1
Pacific Loon 1
Common Loon 5
Pied-billed Grebe 10
Eared Grebe 25
Western Grebe 5
Western/Clark's Grebe 15
Double-crested Cormorant 1
American White Pelican 19
Great Blue Heron 3
Great Egret 1
Black-crowned Night-Heron 1
Turkey Vulture 2
Osprey 1
Northern Harrier 1
Red-tailed Hawk 1
American Coot 50
Black-bellied Plover 20
Killdeer 1
Sanderling 18
Wilson's Snipe 1
Mew Gull (American) 3
Ring-billed Gull 5
Western Gull 20
Western x Glaucous-winged Gull (hybrid) 2
California Gull 40
Herring Gull 10
Thayer's Gull 2
Glaucous-winged Gull 35
Northern Flicker 6
Black Phoebe 2
Western Scrub-Jay 20
Common Raven 1
Bewick's Wren 1
Marsh Wren 2
American Robin 23
European Starling 4
American Pipit 16
Yellow-rumped Warbler 10
Spotted Towhee 2
Song Sparrow 12
White-crowned Sparrow 25
By Luke Musher and Cory Ritter
