Aythya-bonanza!!

The last week has the weather been the same; weak or sometimes no wind, high-pressure dominated and warm. But yesterday some change in the weather resulted in some nice flocks of Aythya-ducks, mainly scaups. Today, mostly felt right when I got to the cape. Flocks of scaups went by before I even got my scope ready, so I knew that this would be a great day. But maybe not SO great...

Flocks, often 40-60 ind., were passing by until one o'clock. Often mixed with velvet scoters and flocks of 80-100 scaups with 50 velvet scoters were not uncommon. 

At one o'clock the migration started to slow down (c. 3800 scaups had been counted then) and I got some time for search for eastern vagrants. The round resulted in one yellow-browed warbler and a siberian chiffchaff, not so bad.

The evening was not given anything new but some nice flocks of scaups in warm evening light.

Weather:

Cloudy in the morning. At noon partly cloudy and clear in the evening. Wind from northeast, 5-7 m/s in the morning, weaker in the evening.

Notes from the cape:

15/9

divers 169 (152 red-throated)

wigeon 690

pintail 109

shoveler 72

porchard 2

tufted duck 619

scaup 4185!

aythya sp. 100

common scoter 3689

velvet scoter 1782

hobby 2

merlin 1

peregrine 1

great-spotted woodpecker 4

red-throated pipit 1

Note that scaup was the most numerous species today, even more numerous than scoter.

14/9

wigeon 985

shoveler 31

porchard 3

tufted duck 87

scaup 649

aythya sp. 152

common scoter 2523

velvet scoter 886

kestrel 1

hobby 1

merlin 1

red-throated pipit

coal tit 280