Waterfowl continue to gather in numbers above the Wilder Dam at dusk, this evening assembling in the middle of the still ice-free impoundment opposite the playing fields. When I arrived at 4:30 pm, there were 20 Common and 45 Hooded mergansers, as well as an adult male White-winged Scoter. Over 150 Mallards and 6 Am. Black Ducks were scattered along the NH bank. Darkness fell quickly, and it became difficult to both identify and count birds, but mergansers arrived in pulses from both the north and south to join the loose flock. Many Mallards and blacks also moved from the shoreline to the open water, and may have been joined by new arrivals. By the time I left at 4:50, there were at least 40 Commons and 85 Hoodeds, possibly many more. It will be interesting to see at what point birds shift to roosting below the dam. A few consecutive nights like tonight, and it may not take long! One of these days I'll get out there before dawn to see how many birds actually congregate for the night, and what their morning dispersal patterns are... Chris -- Chris Rimmer Vermont Center for Ecostudies P.O. Box 420 Norwich, VT 05055 802-649-1431 ext. 1 www.vtecostudies.org **************************************************************** To post messages, send e-mail to: [log in to unmask] Set your e-mail application to PLAIN TEXT ONLY to post messages. To contact the list owner: [log in to unmask] ---------------------------------------------------------------- Web based archives and subscription management are available at: http://listserv.dartmouth.edu/Archives/uv-birders.html ****************************************************************