Date: January 26, 2003

Time: 8:15-11:45 AM

Northeast Creek causeway, Farrington Point causeway, Ebenezer Point boat ramp, west side of Seaforth Point, fishing access on Big Woods Road

Overcast, calm, chilly (30-40 degrees F), large sections of the lake with thin ice

PODICIPEDIFORMES
Pied-billed Grebe	6	scattered on lake
Horned Grebe	10	west of Seaforth
PELICANIFORMES
Double-crested Cormorant	3000	most on the breakwater at Crosswinds Marina
CICONIIFORMES
Great Blue Heron	30	including many fishing on the ice in the lake
Turkey Vulture	3	first soaring about 11:00
ANSERIFORMES
Canada Goose	50	in one flock near a farm
Mallard	10	west of Seaforth, some males dispalying
Hooded Merganser	200	in flocks on the lake, including 130 west of Seaforth, apparently pushed out of the swamps by the freeze
FALCONIFORMES
Red-shouldered Hawk	1	flew across Northeast Creek beside the causeway
Bald Eagle	1	immature bird perhaps three or so years old, with the "osprey" head pattern
CHARADRIIFORMES
Killdeer	3	on grassy margins of highway and parking lot
Ring-billed Gull	400	mostly adults, some second-winter birds, mostly in upper reaches of lake
Bonaparte's Gull	30	including some with flocks of Ring-bills
COLUMBIFORMES
Rock Dove	13	Northeast Creek causeway bridge
Mourning Dove	10
CORACIIFORMES
Belted Kingfisher	2
PICIFORMES
hairy Woodpecker	1	crossed Big Woods Road
PASSERIFORMES
FLYCATCHER FAMILY
Eastern Phoebe	1	at Seaforth
JAY AND CROW FAMILY
American Crow	8	scattered singles
CHICKADEE FAMILY
Carolina Chickadee	1	Big Woods Road -- we could not find a flock
Tufted Titmouse	1	crossed the road
WREN FAMILY
Carolina Wren	1	singing briefly
MIMIC FAMILY
Northern Mockingbird	1
THRUSH FAMILY
American Robin	80	scattered and one large flock
Hermit Thrush	1	crossed Big Woods Road
Eastern Bluebird	6	along Martha's Chapel Road
KINGLET FAMILY
none!
WOOD-WARBLER FAMILY
none!
CARDINAL FAMILY
Northern Cardinal	4	including one singing
SPARROW FAMILY
Dark-eyed Junco	20	several flocks along roadsides
Song Sparrow	3	bushes beside roads
FINCH FAMILY
none!

NOTES

After several days of cold weather, it was hard to find birds.   On the other hand, the flocks of Hooded Mergansers were a fine show.   Evidently they had been forced out of the swamps by the freeze.

We also had some nice looks at grebes and a young Bald Eagle in the "osprey" plumage with a brown band through the eye on an otherwise whitish head.

We failed to find a chickadee flock anywhere and thus missed the other species that hang out with chicadees in winter -- kinglets, nuthatches, creepers, warblers.

The frozen lake had also made feeding difficult for cormorants, a few thousand of which were perched on the breakwater at Crosswinds Marina waiting for a thaw.   Great Blue Herons walked along the edges of the ice looking for fish -- except for one that slid unceremoniously into the water!