Waterfowl Counting

Four of us braved the element of a cold NNW wind coming off the bay to count waterfowl for an annual NYSOA survey. We were assigned to two segments of the Brooklyn waterfront, Bush Terminal Park and the Brooklyn Army Terminal pier. The latter was quiet; large bays on either side of the pier had rough water; calmer water to the south had a small raft of scaup in it. We did see our only loon of the day there, a Red-throated.Bush Terminal had rather more Black Ducks and Mallards than I would have expected. There were also a couple of handfuls of Buffleheads and smaller numbers of Gadwall (top) and Wigeon (above). Four male Red-breasted Mergansers nipped and chased each other as if they wanted to prove something. One of the many feral cats that infest the waterfront.This one wasn’t on the beach for a tan. I’ve never seen one try to take a duck, but I bet they try.