CLEVELAND, Ohio -- With the onset of the cold, gray, wet and windy days of November in Northeast Ohio, serious birders turn their attention to the Lake Erie shoreline.

That's where the majority of the birding action is concentrated, as strong gusts from the Northwest blow multitudes of diving ducks and gulls our way, providing a stunning parade of waterfowl for strong-willed lake watchers to enjoy.

Maximum enjoyment of lakefront birding this time of year requires several essential elements: a sturdy disposition, a powerful spotting scope and warm boots, coat, gloves, hat and long johns.

Early Sunday, I joined about a dozen birders camped out at Sunset Park, which actually is nothing more than a green strip of land overlooking the lake in Willoughby. Jerry Talkington, Dan Sanders and Doreene Linzell were comfortably parked in folding chairs while the rest of us birded from seats on guardrails and parked cars, or stood at attention behind our tripods.

Horned grebes feed in large numbers in Lake Erie.

The birding action was steady as we blinked back tears and shuffled around to keep our feet and fingers warm. Bonaparte's gulls fluttered by practically nonstop, occasionally joined by a little gull – distinguishable at a distance by its dark gray underwings.

Further out on the lake, streams of waterfowl passed by, most in an easterly direction. The majority were red-breasted mergansers, with enough variety to keep our attention. Those included all three scoters – black, surf and white-winged – common goldeneye and common loon. A Northern harrier also passed overhead, and at least three bald eagles soared along the shoreline.

Bonaparte's gulls lose their black hoods in fall and can be found in huge numbers on Lake Erie.

Later in the morning, Ashley Heeney, my son Bret and I shifted our lake watch eastward to the Headlands Beach State Park in Mentor, where the waves were crashing, the wind was whipping the sand across the dunes, and our ears were numbed by the constant roar.

We almost immediately encountered a small flock of snow buntings – our first of the fall -- plus ruby-crowned and golden-crowned kinglets, American goldfinch, song and white-throated sparrows, and a dunlin scurrying astride the surf.

Flocks of bufflehead, scoters and mergansers flew by, and nearly a dozen horned grebes bobbed and dove in the rough water.

Surf scoters migrate across the Great Lakes toward the East Coast, where most spend the winter.

The variety of species viewable on the lakefront can be stunning, offering worthy rewards in exchange for the discomforts of winter birding. During previous days on lake watches, Talkington and members of the Headlands crew spotted flocks of brant, bufflehead, goldeneye, scaup, Northern pintail, gadwall, and American wigeon, accompanied by several long-tailed ducks, a harlequin duck, pomarine jaegers, little gulls, a black tern, and a flyby purple sandpiper.

At the end of the day, I was surprised to find four to six pine siskins munching on thistle at my West Park backyard feeding station. Also there: a late chipping sparrow amid a flock of house sparrows, dark-eyed juncos and house finches.

SIGHTINGS

On Tuesday morning, Talkington and Cory Chiappone reported multiple flocks totaling about 200 pine siskins arriving along the lake shore. They also spotted flocks of Lapland longspurs and snow buntings.

BIRD WALKS

Saturday, Nov. 8, at 8:30 a.m., explore the Twinsburg Ledges area at Liberty Park, 9999 Liberty Road, Twinsburg. For information, call 330-865-8065.

Sunday, Nov. 9, at 8:30 a.m., trundle the Shaker Lakes Parklands in search of fall migrants. Meet at the Nature Center parking lot.

BIRD NEWS

On Wednesday Nov. 5, at 7:30 p.m., the Kirtland Bird Club will hold its monthly meeting at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History. Speaker will be Tom Henry, formerly of the Ohio Division of Wildlife, who will recount 14 years worth of data collected on barn owls in Ohio, from 1990 to 2003.