Our first stop was at the south side of the Indian River Inlet. It was a cold (33°) and windy morning when we got there but we hung out long enough to see some good birds including long-tailed ducks, dozens of buffleheads, common eiders, and common and red-throated loons. Some great cormorants were on the jetty tower as well. The next stop was the area where the inlet meets the marina. Among the birds we saw there was a male-female pair of red-breasted mergansers, common loon, bufflehead, great blue heron, and a common goldeneye towards the marina. Our final stop was at Burton Island. From the kayak launch area in the parking lot we got good views of a pair of horned grebes. We also saw a pied-billed grebe, at least two common goldeneyes, a few ruddy turnstones on the dock, ring-billed gulls, and some buffleheads. We didn’t get very far on Burton Island. The left path at the fork was flooded and not passible so we walked along the right path up to the boardwalk. We turned around there and went back even though the temperature “warmed up” to 39°.
MY PHOTOS: horned grebe, common goldeneye, common loon, long-tailed duck, red-throated loon
