Sunrise Arrival
Minutes before sunrise, dozens more scaup came flying from the north into the North Basin, joining the hundreds already there. A separate raft with hundreds more paddled in Richmond Bay southward; some of those took flight, others remained on the water.
An hour later, the North Basin showed at least four separate rafts of these birds, and three of them had moved to the south end within eyesight of the Virginia Street Extension. These birds were hungry and executed dives while maintaining their approximate place within the moving train. The progress was orderly in the main but chaotic in the detail. The occasional cormorant, grebe, and gull watched from the sidelines, unsure what to make of this feathered throng.
The usual procedure would be for this multitude to remain for a few days by way of a stop for resting and feeding, and then proceed to unknown destinations further south. But a handful or perhaps more may remain here for the winter season.
More about them: Wikipedia Cornell Audubon In Chavez Park
