In Erie County, PA “birding news of interest,” pockets of open water appeared once again around the North Pier/South Pier area this week, after a recent “near 100%” freeze-over due to cold temps. Open water = greatly increased seasonal waterfowl activity, including reported sightings yesterday/today of Surf Scoter and, early this morning, this rather unusual what’s probably a Hooded Merganser x Common Goldeneye hybrid:
ID: looks like a male Hooded Merganser but without any white on the head/’hood.’ Who knew?
[Editor’s note: somewhere in the metaverse, Netflix has greenlit development of A Duck Tail of Forbidden Love…]
More from South Pier later. Here’s BIF, etc. from 1 February 2026 at Presque Isle Marina:
And finally, lots and lots of Common Merganser in flight:
