Here are selected comments from participants:
Maury Hall, data compiler wrote:
Interesting January count. Loons, grebes, Mallard, Oldsquaw higher than long-term average and Canada Goose and scoter very high. RBMerganser and goldeneye low. Brant, American Black Duck, and eider very low.
Linda Pivacek, Nahant volunteer, wrote:
Note the Snowy Owl that Kenton and Betsy found on the breakwater at Eliot Circle in Revere. Was it counted by a Winthrop team as well? (Answer: Yes. -sz)
I still have great concern about very low numbers of C. Eider. Once East Point hosted many hundreds. Are they victims of illness or are mussel beds in trouble? (Answer: don't know yet. See below. -sz)
Also, Maury, do you know status of eel grass in harbor and are studies underway to transplant from Nahant to inner harbor?
Andrew Joslin, Hough's Neck volunteer, wrote:
Most noteworthy were 18 Surf Scoter at Hurley's Landing, I think that's a high count since I've been doing HN. A Merlin was perched on the Osprey nest at Rock Island Marsh.
We had an unidentified loon looking south from the end of Nut Island Pier. It was quite far out, it appeared white on the neck and dark gray/black on the back, nape and top of head. It held its bill at an upward angle. It looked heavier and darker than RT Loon and slightly less heavy than C. Loon. There was a C. Loon and a RT Loon in the same area at the same distance and they were clearly identifiable.
Soheil Zendeh on Boston Harbor cruise, 19 January:
Bob Stymeist, Wayne Petersen and others on the boat noticed and documented the absurdly low numbers of Common Eider: Approx. 600 between the downtown wharfs and the outer islands. If there were some around Lynn Harbor or around East Point, Nahant, I doubt we could see them. By the way, the eider count in November was also very low—around 5000.
Comments compiled by
Soheil Zendeh
last updated: 2008.01.25
url: http://www.gis.net/~szendeh/tasl.jan.08.notes.htm