Wanted to see how fast the lake is freezing over with the temperatures 
of the last few days.  Ice cover is moving rapidly northward.  Lake bird 
sightings were similar to those reported by others this past weekend.  
Of note were 220 Common Mergansers and 22 Hooded Mergansers (along with 
Buffleheads, Common Goldeneyes, and Mallards) at Converse Bay, 450 
Canada Geese mid-lake off Spaulding and White Bays (Panton), and 500 
gulls on the ice nearby the Canada Geese.  The gulls were not possible 
to confirm to species due to distance (in middle of the lake) and 
thermal distortion.  At one point they all lifted up, milled a few 
hundred feet above the ice, and then resettled.  Especially when in 
flight they looked very like Ring-billed Gulls, but I could not not 
confirm for certainty.

Interesting sightings from town roads:  A flock of 12 Lapland Longspurs 
on Little Chicago Road; a number of roadside flocks of Horned Larks 
(from 6 to 61 per flock); a few Rough-legged and Red-tailed Hawks; on 
Lake Road (Charlotte) a single flock of 61(!) Wild Turkey, a flock of 
180 Crows in corn stubble, and a Barred Owl atop a roadside utility pole 
which I stopped beside so the owl could get a better look at me; and 
finally, a Great-horned Owl (subsp. plasticense) atop the pump building 
at Arnold Bay.

Some details below,

Ian
===========
Champlain Bridge site:  Some open water in channel where construction is 
under way and ferry runs.  No birds observed, but did not have a good look.
Tri-town:  All ice.  No lake birds seen.
Potash Bay:  All ice.  No lake birds seen.
Spaulding and White Bays:  Lots of ice except some open water mid-lake.
Arnold Bay:  Mostly iced in.
Converse Bay: About 25 percent frozen.
McNeil Cove:  Mostly frozen.  No lake birds seen.
Charlotte Town Beach:  Some shoreline ice; some lake ice; lots of open 
water.

Location:     White Bay, Panton
Observation date:     1/17/11
Notes:     Most of lake frozen except for a central lead and a small 
lead near Mud Island (where the Black Duck were).
Number of species:     4

Canada Goose     450     In middle of lake in open lead.
American Black Duck     8
Bald Eagle     1
Ring-billed Gull     5
gull sp.     500     Gulls not possible to confirm to species due to 
distance (in middle of the lake) and thermal distortion.  They were on 
the ice, then all lifted up, milled around, and resettled.  Especially 
when in flight they looked like Ring-billed Gulls, but I could not not 
confirm for certainty vs. Herring Gulls.
====================
Location:     Arnold Bay
Observation date:     1/17/11
Notes:     Bay is 90 percent iced over.
Number of species:     1

American Black Duck     5
=====================
Location:     Converse Bay
Observation date:     1/17/11
Number of species:     5

Mallard     5
Bufflehead     3
Common Goldeneye     51
Hooded Merganser     22
Common Merganser     220
=========================
Location:     Charlotte Town Beach
Observation date:     1/17/11
Notes:     Some ice, but mostly open water.
Number of species:     7

Mallard     6
Bufflehead     6
Common Goldeneye     1100     One group of 750 and second group of 350.
Common Merganser     8
Common Loon     1
Bald Eagle     1     Looked like a first year bird.
Herring Gull     1
======================
Location:     Little Chicago Road
Observation date:     1/17/11
Number of species:     5

Rock Pigeon     32
American Crow     27
Horned Lark     35
European Starling     750     Flock seemed to be a combination of birds 
from two farms.
Lapland Longspur     12     This flock was separate and distant from any 
other birds.

This report was generated automatically by eBird v2(http://ebird.org/vt)