Seven of us embarked from the Shops at Worthington for a typical frigid day of birding at Lake Erie. It was 2 degrees (not including the wind chill) when we arrived at Huron Harbor, where our group increased to 8. Despite good numbers of gulls, we saw only 3 species: Ring-billed, Herring, and Great Black-backed. We had flyover Bald Eagle and Peregrine Falcon, but the lake was frozen at this location.
We had the best variety of species at Avon Lake where the power plants warm water discharge kept some water open. We added Bonaparte’s Gulls, bringing the day’s total to four gull species — but no white-winged gulls. Ducks included Goldeneye, Black Duck, Greater and Lesser Scaup, and a Canvasback.
Lorain was likewise frozen. We had good numbers of gulls on the Black River, but not much diversity of species. Reports of a Harlequin Duck sent us scurrying for Euclid Beach. The group got separated and half of us walked the wrong direction across windy, snow-covered ground for about a quarter mile and back. The rest of the group arrived just in time to walk down and see the Harlequin swimming in a small area of unfrozen water with some Buffleheads. Meanwhile, temperatures remained in the single digits.
The latecomers asserted their independence and took off for parts unknown (it was rumored they needed at bathroom stop) while the rest of us headed for McDonalds for lunch. Our missing colleagues declined to join us at McDonalds, still searching for a bathroom, and after lunch were still MIA. We decided to look for the Saw-whet Owl previously reported at Dike 14, which we were unable to locate. The other group reconnected via cell phone; they had decided to go to Wendy Park but did not any new species there. We informed  them of our decision to go to East  55th street and then to Scranton Flats, since we were finding the lake mostly frozen. They caucused and elected  to head home.  They didn’t miss much, as we did not find any of our desired gulls at the East 55th Marina.
Scranton Flats had hundreds of gulls, but just two species. At this point, we found that one of the women on the trip had left her purse at the McDonalds. When she noticed it was missing, she called the restaurant and was told they did not have it — but when she returned a call to her husband, she discovered her purse had been turned in at the McDonalds. With a great sense of relief, we headed back to McDonalds but lost some more of our group as the third car headed for home. Meanwhile, we retrieved the purse, all contents intact!
Those of us remaining saw a huge number of gulls on the river and decided to stop again. As at the other stops, massive numbers of Ring-billed Gulls and a few Herring Gulls  were sitting on the ice. Just for variety, a couple of Ruddy Ducks were swimming in the frigid waters.  But while scanning the waters, Jeremy found a Surf Scoter, then closer looks revealed a Black Scoter in the same vicinity! We also saw another Peregrine Falcon soaring over its nesting spot on the Terminal Tower.
With darkness falling, we headed for home. We all got a good start on our January lists, with 40 species for the day (list below).
You can see an album of photos from this trip at Lisa Phelps Flickr pages.
Canada Goose
Swan sp.
Mallard
Canvasback
Redhead
Ring-necked Duck
Greater Scaup
Lesser Scaup
Harlequin Duck
Surf Scoter
Black Scoter
Bufflehead
Common Goldeneye
Hooded Merganser
Common Merganser
Red-breasted Merganser
Ruddy Duck
Pied-billed Grebe
Double-crested Cormorant
Great Blue Heron
Bald Eagle
Red-shouldered Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
American Coot
Bonaparte’s Gull
Ring-billed Gull
Herring Gull
Great Black-backed Gull
Rock Pigeon
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Peregrine Falcon
Blue Jay
American Crow
Northern Mockingbird
European Starling
Dark-eyed Junco
White-throated Sparrow
Northern Cardinal
House Sparrow