I ventured north to begin my morning today at Sabattus Pond. I was surprised to see a fair amount of ice on the lake, especially at the productive southeast end. Nevertheless, I had a very good tally of waterbirds:
172 Common Mergansers (a few large groups of which launched up and disappeared high in the sky, heading south).
166 Ruddy Ducks
139 Mallards
139 Ring-billed Gulls (probably the most that I have tallied here)
50 Unidentified Scaup (a little too far, but they were probably Lessers)
28 Greater Scaup
12 Lesser Scaup
17 Herring Gulls
6 Common Goldeneyes
5 American Black Duck
5 Bufflehead
4 Hooded Mergansers
3 Great Black-backed Gulls
1 1st Cycle Bald Eagle

I then wandered around towards Cobboseecontee Lake, enjoying a close pass by a 4th Cycle Bald Eagle at Cochewagon Lake in Monmouth. I was very surprised to see how much ice was on “Cobbosee,” and the productive southern end was thickly iced in. However, one view from the west edge produced two Common Loons, and two Long-tailed Ducks. One distant cormorant was intriguing – either a very late Double-crested or a rare-inland Great.

Woodbury Pond was also frozen, so I headed to Merrymeeting Bay to seek out open water. A few stops didn’t produce too much – the tide was low, and most of the locations I was checking were better at high tide – but my third eagle of the day, an immature of an undetermined age, was at the mouth of the Abagadasset River in Bowdoinham.

After a couple more brief stops, I headed south to the Harraseeket River in Freeport, hoping to see a newly arrived Barrow’s Goldeneye or two. Not yet, but there is a growing amount of duckage here. 2 Red-throated Loons were off of the South Freeport Town Landing, and a goodly 5 were off of Winslow Park. 13 Dunlin and 41 Purple Sandpipers (a very good count for interior Casco Bay) were here as well.