Marking the end of 2024-2025 primary duck hunting season at Presque Isle State Park yesterday with a ‘mega post’ of recent ducks @ outer Lake Erie, off Budny Beach/Sunset Point. Depending on weather conditions, an amazing amount of migratory activity w/ ducks heading both east and west (presumably south, too, at some point):
Nice sequence of beautiful Redhead ducks (male = red head):
Distant ducks, looking north, @ 600mm, mostly Red-breasted Mergansers, and lots of them!
Two shots of mixed ducks:
Annotated version of shot above: 1) female or immature Bufflehead; 2) female Common Goldeneye; 3) male Bufflehead; 4) male Common Goldeneye; rest: probably Lesser Scaup ducks.
Red-breasted Mergansers in flight:
In contrast, these are Common Mergansers:
These are typical views, looking north, @ 600mm of ducks (mostly Red-breasted Merganser) heading east along outer Lake Erie. Following shot, the larger bird in the center middle = Great Black-backed Gull:
Lesser Scaup in flight, fairly close to shore:
Finally, a distant but nice sequence of Common Goldeneye (male – right; female/immature: left) coming in for landing:
Looks like a cold but partially sunny day today in Erie County, PA – happy birding!