Beached Bird Sur-vey (Apr 5th)

And by survey, I mean a slow walk along the beach for a little while.... This Osprey (above) was a highlight.

Back on Apr 5th, I took a walk down Van Wagner's Beach with someone! We went from the Lakeland Centre towards the lift bridge, and maybe went 2/3'rds of the way! I was keeping track of the dead-fowl...

Some rough counts -

Ring-billed Gull - 3
Herring Gull - 1
White-winged Scoter - 6
Long-tailed Duck - 9
Lesser Scaup - 1
Bufflehead - 1
Ruddy Duck - 2

Seemed like a strange list! Stranged of all, the Ruddy Ducks! What are the odds of finding two?? I took some scenic photos of the one (above) - but I also noticed the second had some funky tail-molt happening (see below) -

Were the Ruddies flying into the hydro wires? Or did they die on the lake and get washed up? 

A few days later I noted another dead Long-tailed Duck and a dead Mute Swan on a stretch of beach we didn't cover (while rollerblading)... Never a dull moment in the bird world - even if it isn't the happiest of bird-related activities.