Mon. 2/18: Tundra Swans and Rough-leg at Brig/Forsythe; wacky weather continues

I took a spin around Brig/Forsythe NWR this morning. The temperature was a mild 55 degrees, but the winds were out of the south at a sustained 20-25mph, which made scoping distant birds a challenge- to say the least. Highlights included 3 Tundra Swans in the SW Pool, 838 Greater Scaup in the bay as one looks toward Atlantic City (whatever it's called, I never can remember), a lone Rough-legged Hawk perched in a tree near the end of the north dike, and 2 American Tree Sparrows along Jen's Trail.

While perusing the infamous "book of lies" (aka Brig's sighting sheet), I saw an interesting report of -either- an Orange-crowned Warbler or a Painted Bunting on February 7 near "the office"- not sure if that means the actual Refuge HQ on the south side of the entrance road (where I believe there are feeders), or if it means the area behind the restrooms. The bird was noted to be more green than olive...definitely something to keep in mind if you visit Brig in the near future.

The strange weather of this winter continued today, as our 60+ degree warmth was squashed by a strong cold front, accompanied by some very dramatic clouds and, later on, some strong thunderstorms which featured quite a bit of lightning...not your typical February weather by any means. Pictures of the front approaching Reed's Beach are included, as is this morning's list from Brig.

Location: E B Forsythe NWR--Autoloop

Observation date: 2/18/08

Number of species: 44
Snow Goose 915

Brant 1500

Canada Goose 37

Mute Swan 6

Tundra Swan 3

Gadwall 11

American Wigeon 47

American Black Duck 730

American Black Duck x Mallard (hybrid) 1

Mallard 86

Northern Shoveler 54

Northern Pintail 283

Green-winged Teal 31

Greater Scaup 838

Bufflehead 19

Hooded Merganser 31

Red-breasted Merganser 12

Great Blue Heron 3

Northern Harrier 3

Red-tailed Hawk 1

Rough-legged Hawk 1

Dunlin 21

Ring-billed Gull 62

Herring Gull 110

Great Black-backed Gull 18

Mourning Dove 2

Belted Kingfisher 1

Downy Woodpecker 1

Blue Jay 1

American Crow 1

Carolina Chickadee 2

Tufted Titmouse 2

Carolina Wren 2

American Robin 6

European Starling 6

Cedar Waxwing 3

Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle) 6

American Tree Sparrow 2

Fox Sparrow 1

Song Sparrow 4

White-throated Sparrow 9

Northern Cardinal 2

Red-winged Blackbird 30

American Goldfinch 1

This report was generated automatically by eBird v2(http://ebird.org)