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Thanksgiving week began with some large bird numbers in the waters south of the Champlain Bridge and ended with the icing over of all those waters and dispersion of the birds northward and other unknown locations. On the 22nd Dick Harlow and I observed 6000 Scaup (clicker-counted from photos rounded to the nearest 50) in Goose Bay and 2250 Canada Geese at Jones Dock, both in Bridport. The Goose Bay scaup were counted again from photos on the 25th (3350 total). From photo enlargements Ron Payne determined the species of 427 scaup, yielding 64.3% Lessers and 35.7% Greaters. Then on the 26th the flock was again counted from photographs, yielding 4900 scaup. Flock counts of 6000 and 4900 exceed the previous high counted in the south lake [3580 on October 26th 2012 in Goose Cove). Also during that period there was a large Canada Goose flock at Jones Dock (2250 geese clicker-counted on the 22nd). Common Mergansers and Common Goldeneye numbered around 250 each. Species numbers of waterfowl were fairly low. By Thanksgiving the cold days and frigid nights led to rapid ice formation. By Friday the 29th the lake was ice covered from Benson Landing to Jones Dock, except for one small area at Benson Bay (in Orwell). And ice was building rapidly toward the Champlain Bridge. Benson Bay had become a refugium for waterfowl …. Over 800 Scaup, 570 dabblers (dominated by Mallards and Black Ducks), 80+ Common Mergansers, and assorted gulls. Open leads in water at Jones Dock still held 1100 Canada Geese, and an uncounted flock of Scaup was tucked in Goose Bay. Yesterday (Saturday the 30th) Ron Payne and I found full ice coverage south of the Champlain Bridge, except for one open lead at Jones Dock that housed 1277 Canada Geese and an assortment of other birds squeezed out of habitats ice free only a day or two previously (full list is below). Making seven stops yesterday from the Bridge to Kellogg Bay (Fields Bay) at the mouth of Otter Creek in Ferrisburgh, we found the Lake ice free except for most of Kellogg Bay. Lake birds were not at all abundant … and were scattered about with a fair amount of general repositioning (probably due to the rapid icing to the south) and in reaction to quite a bit of duck hunting from shore and boats. Species diversity of waterfowl was quite low. Highlight was a single Double-crested Cormorant on an isolated rock viewed from Turkey Lane in Panton. We did not discover any significant numbers of scaup that may have moved, as they sometimes do, northward from now iced-over Goose Cove. We'll see if they reappear in the next few days, unless they headed south ... unlike recent years when they followed the ice northward. Below is a list of lake birds summed from yesterday's north-of-the-bridge stops. As is customary, there was a Northern Mockingbird along Lake Street in Bridport. Ian ============================== November 30th birds from Champlain Bridge to Kellogg Bay (Fields Bay): Greater/Lesser Scaup 470 Common Goldeneye 449 Mallard 327 Canada Goose 285 Ring-billed Gull 142 Black Duck 108 Lesser Scaup 52 Greater Scaup 50 Common Merg 31 Horned Grebe 15 Great Black-backed Gull 13 Hooded Merganser 11 Bufflehead 5 Common Loon 5 Herring Gull 4 Long-tailed Duck 3 Bald Eagle 1 Great Blue Heron 1 Double-crested Cormorant 1 Belted Kingfisher 1 ============================== Jones Dock Road / Giard's Bay, Addison, US-VT Nov 30, 2013 9:34 AM - 10:25 AM Protocol: Stationary Comments: Ron Payne, Ian Worley. Lake entirely iced over except for one small open lead. 15 species Snow Goose 45 14 on ice by open lead; 31 in mixed flock with Canada Geese over-flying. Canada Goose 1277 Aerial flock of 86, 71, and 16. 1104 on ice edge of open lead and in water. Clicker counted by individuals. American Black Duck 12 Mallard 110 Clicker counted by individuals Northern Pintail 1 Ring-necked Duck 1 Lesser Scaup 2 Common Goldeneye 146 Clicker counted by individuals Hooded Merganser 5 Ring-billed Gull 6 Herring Gull 4 Black-capped Chickadee 1 Yellow-rumped Warbler 1 Northern Cardinal 2 American Goldfinch 7 View this checklist online at http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S15813417