1/9/2012 I birded Stratford and Fairfield today (61 species) with the following highlights: Stratford, Short Beach Park - 1 GREAT EGRET, 3 Double-crested Cormorants, 100s of Sanderlings and Dunlin at low tide, 3 White-crowned Sparrows, 3 Fox Sparrows, 70 Snow Buntings. Stratford, Stratford Point - 1 NORTHERN GANNET, 7 Great Cormorants, 124 Am. Wigeon, many Gadwall, an estimated 3000 Scaup far out (1+ mile offshore), numbers of the usual loons and sea ducks. Frash Pond (Access Rd.) - 30 Canvasback. Stratford, Long Beach Blvd., Mckinney NWR / Great Meadows Marsh - 5 GREAT EGRETS, 3 Killdeer (Tom Hook had 5 earlier), 10 Black-crowned Night-Herons, 2 ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLERS, 4 Golden-crowned Kinglets, 19 BOAT-TAILED GRACKLES. The Grackles surprised me by still being in the area. First sighting since August (before Hurricane Irene). They seem to have changed their evening roost site. I saw them from the airport entrance at 4:45-5:05 pm, perched in a distant tree then they flew SE over me to an undetermined roost location. Long Beach - 5 Horned Grebes, 100+ Common Goldeneyes, 4 Common Mergansers. I did not look for the Iceland Gull. Fairfield, Old Dam Rd., Pine Creek Open Space - Gray Catbird, YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT (thanks Charlie B.), 2 SNOW GEESE (ad & imm. with Canadas on golf course). Frank Mantlik Stratford >From Frank & Linda Mantlik 1/8 Stratford, Wooster Pond - CACKLING GOOSE, 12 Green-winged Teal. >From Linda Mantlik 1/6 Milford, Anderson Ave. marsh - 1 Greater Yellowlegs. p.s. I saw photos of a reported Green Heron (Jan. 7), and it was in fact a Black-crowned Night-Heron.