These big groups in a long line are Surf scoters. Sometimes Goldeneyes, buffleheads, or Mergansers are mixed in. They gather every year about this time.

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> On Mar 12, 2015, at 7:54 PM, Sarah Guenther <sarahguenther8 at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Far across the inlet at the end of the day I spotted a large number of birds, mostly in groups of 30-50, probably 250 in all. They were far away and back-lit, so even with my scope they were difficult to identify. To me, they looked like Loons, either Common or Pacific. Do Loons gather in large numbers like this? Maybe they were following a fish run? They were mostly bunched up in a long group, but other groups were strung out more sparsely. It's possible the entire 250 birds were not all the same bird, but they certainly looked similar (but being so far they all looked like black and white dots).
>
> What I could see was a white neck and body, dark head, dark back of neck, and dark body (as far as I could tell). Many of them were rising up to flap their wings so I could see their white bellies. It was hard to distinguish size being so far away, but I don't think they were cormorants because they weren't swimming down in the water. I did spot some Marbled Murrelets, Pigeon Guillemots, a Common Loon closer into shore, close enough to identify, so these birds are around our area at this time.
>
> Thoughts? I'm new to birding on the Puget sound so I'm still learning what to expect. I'd appreciate any help.
>
> Sarah G.
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