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Posted by Robin@tropicalaudubon.org on 15:56:59 09/10/08
I returned home at 2 PM and set up the scope. By 2:10 I was watching 2 Sooty Shearwaters plying the waters off the southern end of Crandon Beach. Both were actively feeding; diving and sitting on the water for short periods. They were in view 5-6 minutes and slowly worked south. I had great light and quickly eliminated Cory's, plus I only needed 40X for great looks. The subtle (partial) light wing linings were clearly visible. At 3 PM I scanned and found another Sooty Shearwater closer to shore. Its graceful, slow shearwater flight was a delight to watch. Interestingly, the only other time I have seen Sooty Shearwaters off Key Biscayne was the day after Katrina, when 3 shearwaters worked the waters offshore from the lighthouse at Cape Florida.
After watching the first 2 shearwaters, I scanned north and found a flock of 8 all-dark sea ducks with nice, big white wing patches: White-winged Scoters. These were also fairly close (35X did the trick) and flew south.
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