Temp in the 40s, mostly cloudy, occasional drizzle, occasional sunshine, 10-20 mph WNW wind.

It was on this date in 2007 that John Pushock found a Spot-billed Duck at Clam Lagoon.

Oh, to be so lucky…

No such action today.

Apparently, the last lingering Tufted Duck left last night. We found a couple of Common Goldeneyes still hanging around and a few Bufflehead.

Otherwise, few migrants left.

Two godwits remain, but no other shorebirds of note. Still no Asian passerines at any of the feeders. After getting multiple Hawfinches and Bramblings during our May trips in 2010, 2011, and 2012, it was disappointing not to get any last year. And now, none this year (although tomorrow is another day…).

We had a couple of tantalizing moments today. While scoping for seabirds at the Seawall, I saw a congregation of gulls in what we call a “feeding frenzy.” This occurs when a few gulls find some rich food source and most gulls within sight-distance join in on the bounty. In this case, the birds were so far out as to make it difficult to see what they were after. However, I saw a grayish-white object surface, then submerge several times. It then vanished and the gulls dispersed. Was it a Beluga Whale? We will never know.

Then, while walking the Clam Lagoon marsh edge, I flushed a small bird that “had a lot of white on it.” By the time I got my binoculars up to my eyes, the bird had vanished over a small rise. I headed in that direction, but could not relocate it. It could have been a wagtail, a wheatear, or just an out-of-place Snow Bunting (although I have seen a lot of Snow Buntings up here and it did not strike me as one). Again, we will never know.

The list is still stuck at 61.

The plane leaves around 6 tomorrow afternoon (usually earlier). We will be birding until then. I expect our wrap-up blog will not be posted until Saturday.