Blaine report and photos, yesterday, Dec 6‏ Andrew Reding

This report is a bit more limited, because the cold was so bitter I had to fight frostbite.

Still, I got a nice series of dunlin photos, taking advantage of the fact that they were also feeling the cold, and huddling together to keep warm:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/seaotter/

There were thousands of dunlins, carpeting the beach, and flying in vast clouds.

Feedback on the geese photos I posted earlier from Bellingham. There was one vote for Taverner’s cackling geese, but the consensus, backed by Dennis Paulson, was that these were lesser Canada geese (Branta canadensis parvipes). The key factor was the length of the bill.

For more on distinguishing Canada and cackling geese, see http://www.idahobirds.net/identification/white-cheeked/subspecies.html

Andrew