Hello all,

I took a drive this afternoon, birding from Delaware SP to Hoover
reservoir looking for water birds. I was hoping for something
different (long-tailed duck?) but didn't find anything too unusual.
Here are a few highlights.

From the Delaware SP marina there was a decent mix of waterfowl, but
the greatest diversity of waterfowl was farther south and more easily
observed from the wildlife area (Panhandle Rd.).  At the marina, one
of the 1st winter Herring Gulls had a metal banded on it's right leg,
although I didn't get close enough to try and read it.

On the reservoir, most of the duck and merganser species recently
reported were still present, including the female WHITE-WINGED SCOTER.
 No black-backed gulls were visible.

The marsh in the wildlife area (off of Panhandle Rd.) included a good
mix of ducks, including half a dozen or more BLUE-WINGED TEAL, some
Green-winged Teal, and over a dozen TREE SWALLOWS.

On the way to Hoover, I took Cheshire rd. over Alum Creek res. where a
small flock of Bonaparte's Gulls was visible north of the road.

I stopped first at the boardwalk at the north end of Hoover before
heading to Sunbury Rd.  From the boardwalk, a large (distant) flock of
Red-breasted Mergansers was visible (240+) as was a lone OSPREY.
Otherwise, waterbirds were scarce.

From Sunbury Rd., a good movement of Turkey Vultures could be seen
moving north up the east side of the reservoir (I counted 79 during
half and hour of viewing).  North of the road, just over 100
Double-crested Cormorants were perched along the shore and out in the
water. Otherwise, waterfowl numbers here were also low (as others have
noted).

Good birding,
Paul Hurtado

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