Seal Island NWR - Sparrow Fallout & King Eider

[Keenan Yakola]

Hi all,

It was an exciting day yesterday here on ol' Seal Island. Lots of sparrows kicking around.... A little over 100 White-throated, around 85 Savannah, 16 Swamp, and a couple Lincoln's Sparrows to boot! Perhaps surprising to many, none of these number represent high counts of these species I have had on the island! In addition to the sparrows we also had 11 warbler species highlighted by FOY Bay-breasted, Yellow,  and Black-throated Blue. A couple of Wood Ducks were also neat sighting and only my second island record in the past 5 years now... The top off the day, I found a stunning drake King Eider who was busy courting and displaying to a female Common Eider, though I can't say his companion shared the same enthusiasm. I am wondered if this is the same bird we saw last summer on Seal Island which at the time we identified as a third year bird, who also held tight to a female common eider occasionally weakly displaying. It will be interesting to keep an eye on this individual...

Here is the list from the day:

https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S56153497

Keenan Yakola