I visited several sites along the southern shores of Hoover reservoir this morning, looking for waterfowl and winter strays.  I've already alerted folks about the N.Waterthrush at Duncan Glen, so I'll go on to recap the rest of the morning.  I stopped at the dam, Maxtown, Mudhen Marsh, Sunbury causeway, Twin Bridges, and Duncan Glen. The bitterly cold wind dictated bird concentrations.  With the wind out of the NW, waterfowl hid in small pockets along the west shore and at Twin Bridges inlet, while landbirds were concentrated around the few protected areas that had running streams (below the Dam and at Duncan Glen).  Notables included:

Geese - lots of Canadas, with 500+ scattered over all sites, but nothing else with them
Mallards - first big flocks of the winter, with groups of 100+ at the dam, Maxtown, and Mudhen
Black Ducks - small #s in most big mallard flocks
N.Shovelers - over 30, topped by 20+ in the cove N of Walnut St. ramp.  They were also at the dam spillway, Maxtown,& Mudhen Marsh
Am.Wigeon - a flock of 7 was at Sunbury causeway, then moved over to the inlet at Twin Bridges
C.Goldeneye - 1 female was in the spillway below the dam.
Hooded mergansers - small numbers at every stop.  I didn't check Oxbow Island, but it may have a sizeable flock now.
Cormorants - 3 were sitting on logs in the inlet at Twin bridges; one was even trying to dry its wings in the cold air.
Grebes - Horned were at several spots, while a Pied-billed was in the marina pool next to the dam.
Gulls - very scarce, with only a few Ring-bills at different spots
Woodpeckers - fair #s of the common species in the windless areas below the dam and at Duncan Glen
E.Bluebirds - 1 below the dam was good, but 6 at Duncan Glen was better.
Yellow-rumped Warblers - 1-2 were in forest at Mudhen marsh, a regular spot for them
N.Waterthrush - feeding along the streams on the north shore of Duncan Glen; hopefully it'll stick around
Sparrows - nothing very unusual, but small flocks of Tree and White-throated were at both the dam & Duncan Glen
Finches - again nothing unusual, but small Goldfinch flocks were at the dam and Duncan Glen

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