Bay Photos by Donna

We’ve taken our last boat rides out on the Chesapeake Bay the past couple weeks as our cooler autumn temps arrive.  Too cold to go fast, so let’s go putter around and look for arriving migrating water birds!  🙂

The Common Loons have arrived; those I’m seeing hail from eastern Canada as they filter down the Atlantic Coast.

Common Loon

Common Loon

Common Loons

Common Loons

I was excited to see the Scoters are here too by the hundreds!  There are three species:  Black Scoter, Surf Scoter, and White-winged Scoter (we don’t see many of these).  I saw two but there’s reports all three are here.

Surf Scoters (males)

Black Scoters

And then there’s the cute Ruddy Ducks who always arrive early.

Ruddy Ducks

We boated past a Great Blue Heron who was soaking up the sun’s warmth to beat the chill I was feeling….

Great Blue Heron

And finally, two lone birds, both a little behind on their migration south that I spotted on some riprap rocks.

Least Sandpiper

Ruddy Turnstone

Other waterfowl have begun to arrive as well, including Canada Geese (thousands!), Tundra Swans, Buffleheads, Northern Shovelers, Gadwalls, Ring-necked Ducks, Teals, and Northern Pintails, with more species to come.  It’ll have to be searching by foot to find them now!  🙂