A friend and I made a morning trip to Starrigavan with the hope of seeing Snow Buntings. Upon returning to campus, the Herring were spawning on Sage Beach, so I took some photos of that. This afternoon I went out with the photography class students on a boat ride and then this evening was a trip to Sage Beach so Connor could try fishing for herring.
Weather: The clear and cool weather persisted through today, though the forecast is for only one more day of it. There was a haziness in the south and the wind had changed to blow out of the south and east.
Birds: We did not see much at Starrigavan other than the usual species. There was a Song Sparrow hop scratching in the water and mud of the estuary. There was also an interesting path through the ice in the estuary where a swan had broken a trail.
One the boat ride this afternoon I saw many Common Murres (some changing back to breeding plumage), one Marbled Murrelet, a couple of Loons, Surf and White-winged Scoters, a Horned Puffin or two, and at least one Rhinocerous Auklet.
A visiting birder reported a probable Slaty-backed Gull at the mouth of Indian River.