29 January 2006
Notes & comments

Welcome to TASL newcomers Bev Chiasson and Karsten Hartel. Bev was on the Hull team and Karsten walked Deer Island with Susannah Corona.

The January 15 count was cancelled due to bad weather: Snow squalls and high winds. The weather date of January 29 was used to replicate the favorable tide from 2 weeks earlier. However, one TASLer thought it was rescheduled for the following week (January 22) and was out there waiting for folks to show up. See below:

From Craig Jackson, Winthrop, 1/22:
Most times I bird Boston Harbor it's as part of a TASL count. TASL stands for Take a Second Look. However, as any TASLer knows, there's barely time for a first look, much less a second, if you expect to finish your route. Thus, it was with great pleasure that mistaking the TASL survey date I found myself in East Boston on Sunday January 22, without a route to cover. After checking out Belle Isle, I decided to go to Deer Island and see if I could pick out a King Eider out of the thousands of Common Eiders that are generally there. Well, there weren't a lot of eiders, probably less than a thousand, which made it easier and lo and behold, when I got to my next to last flock, I found one [King Eider].

Although it may be more difficult to see this bird after the snowstorm, I'd like to report an adult male King Eider at the end of Deer Island in Winthrop. As some of you know, there is now a walkway all around the island. Unfortunately, they do not plow this walkway, so it is a bit of a trek.

Anyway, the bird was at the very end of the island in one of three separate flocks of Common Eider. It was very close to the shore and probably approached 50 - 75 feet from me. It was never more than about 150 feet away. Unfortunately, the sun created a glare in the water, but I still had very good looks as it floated back and forth in front of me.

It was very distinctive in that the white patches near the rear of the duck stood out clearly against the black body (almost like two large round spots) as opposed to the same white patches on a Common Eider which is basically "lost." I'm surprised field guides don't seem to emphasize this point more. The bird was also more grayish-brown than the Commons and had a full gray head. Its breast was a light reddish brown and was outlined by a black collar line that was very distinct. (I believe this was the black "V" that some guides refer to). As I looked at the bird head-on it seemed to have two little black spikes sticking up on either side of its black back. I was surprised to see these, but realized when I looked at the nearby Commons that they also had these little spikes except that since their spikes were white they were almost indiscernible against the light sky. [I'm curious if anyone knows what part of the anatomy causes these spikes to appear -- are they the wing tips sticking up or what?]

Although the bird was mostly tucked during the time I observed it—close to an hour—it did untuck itself several times as it swam around. I was surprised that although it did have an orange frontal shield, it did not appear to me to be as wide as is pictured in all of my field guides. Does anyone know how many years it takes for the full bill to appear -- none of my guides indicate that adult males may have varying bills as they develop into adulthooh. The other fascinating thing about the bird was the distinct black line that outlined the gray cap on the head from the white face. While some field guides show one or other of these black lines (the "collar" and this one), the only book in which they both are depicted that I could find was Birds of Canada.

If anyone has any comments about this bird, it age, etc. or takes a picture of it, I'd be very interested in hearing.

From Lee Taylor, Squantum / Long Island, 1/30:
Pretty cushy day for a TASL count.

From Andrew Joslin, Hough's Neck, 2/2:
Overall numbers low, most interesting sightings as follows: