ML628138807

Observation details

**yard mega; adult or near-adult male foraging at mouth of Crab Creek, spotted swimming across mouth just beyond the point. Species no. 227 for me here and the first new bird in 10.5 years, this was one I had started to hope for just a few days ago after noticing how many Surf Scoters were in close at Hillsmere Beach (where they were not present in the 1990s and I first recorded them in 2019). The counts on the Annapolis CBC have surely gone way up during the recent decade. Still, I didn’t really expect the species this far upriver so was very pleased to see it. One other possible factor in the species appearing here could be the rocky riprap off the west side of the creek mouth, which has probably been in place 10-15 years now and maybe has matured to have some sea life worthy of a foraging scoter?