Category Archives: Ducks

Deer Island Jaunt!

birds, Deer Island, Ducks, Eider ducks, Great Scaup, hiking, massachusetts, Nature, New England, Snow Bunting, winter, , , , , , , , , ,
One of the FB birding groups to which I belong mentioned the presence of snow Buntings on Deer Island.  These cute guys were birds that I had never seen close up, but I’d always wanted to.  So, Yang and I took a jaunt out one weekday early afternoon and had quite a treat on our long walk around the island.  It’s about a 2 1/2 mile circular trail around the island on a paved path, so the going is easy.  It was a gorgeous day – and the views matched the weather.

There are some wonderful views of
Boston Harbor. You can also see that I have this really neat white hat on, given me for Christmas by my good friend Kathy Pender Phaneuf.  This hat has kept my noggin warm on many a seaside trek to scope out the water fowl.  Thank you, Kathy – and dig these views!

 

 

On the far side of the island:

 

 

 

 

There was, indeed, quite a bit to view in the fine-feathered-friend department.  I got to see my Snow Buntings!  You should click on the images to get a really good look at these guys.

 

 

I first heard them somewhere on the beach, but couldn’t see them.  I walked along the wall next to the trail, looking at the ground to watch my step, when all of a sudden, Yang called, “Stop!  Look in front of you!” There they were – and what fun they were to watch.  If you creep up very slowly and quietly, you can get a good look at them, but you have to be careful.  These birds are extremely timid and spook easily.  Then the flock is in the air, flying in precision formation, but often circling back  nearly to where they started.  When they fly, you can see white and black chevrons on their wings that are beautiful!

 

 

 

Here are a few closeups.  I love that gorgeous white on their tummies.

 

 

 

 

 

 

There were even more birds IN the water than out of it!  We had been to the Cape looking for Eider Ducks recently, but hadn’t seen many.  Now we know where to find them – along with Scoters of all kinds, Scaups, Buffleheads – you name it!

 

 

Here are some close ups of the Scaups, and it looks like a female Bufflehead.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There were lots of Eider Ducks.  We got a special kick out of this lady who was have a fine time for herself out of the water on her own personal rock – with a special guest shot by a Scaup.

 

 

 

 

Then, she has to get down with her bad self in this next picture.

We did see  and hear some Song Sparrows. I wonder if in the spring some interesting song birds will return to sing in the brush or atop this Celtic Cross?

Spring Excursions

Blue Winged Warbler, Bluff Point, Connecticut, CT, ducklings, Ducks, Greater Yellow Legs, Green Heron, massachusetts, Nature, New England, snapping turtle, , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Well, you haven’t seen any blogs in a while because this spring has been so busy.  Yang and I have had more than a few excursions, so I have plenty to report.  Unfortunately, I don’t have a lot of pictures because we were too busy enjoying the wonderful scenery or sighting extraordinary critters.  So, let’s get started.  To get a really good look at the photos, be sure to click on them.

While I was busy educating myself on Medieval and Renaissance literature, history, philosophy, and culture at the Keene State College Medieval and Renaissance forum, Yang was chugging up Mt. Monadnock.  This was an extraordinary day with the temperature surging to 85 degrees. Still, you can hear the wind whipping through the trees in this video. 

Nevertheless, Yang almost made it to the top of the mountain.   As you can see from these photos, the view was gorgeous. However, this is my favorite shot.

 

Later on, we were off on our bicycles and checked out the extension of the Fairhaven trail to Mattapoisett, MA.  The day was warm and sunny.   We were lucky enough to catch some sightings of neat shore birds.  We saw this Greater Yellowlegs.  You can’t actually see how yellow his legs are because he’s in pretty deep water.  These birds are tall.  This spring, we’ve also seen these guys in Connecticut and in western Mass.  They love the shore on a lake or the ocean.

We also saw a Great Egret.  Sorry, no picture.  But his legs and feet are something:  long black gams finished with big lumpy bright yellow tootsies!  Like clown shoes!  We do have several pictures of a particularly gorgeous bird:  Green Heron.  His colors  are gorgeous – green/blue crest and back, chesnut neck, white stripes from his eyes to the back of his head, splashes of white  dripping down a beautiful chestnut front.

 

 

 

 

Bluff Point is near Mystic in Connecticut.  So, after a nifty lunch of croissant sandwiches and (for me) coffee latte, we drove over for a new walk.  You start out along the shore, on the edge of the woods, then the trail can lead you into the woods where Carolina Wrens call out to you and songbirds tease you.  One trail veers back toward the shore where  you can walk or swim (not when we went, though!), then along a rise that becomes the point at the end of a peninsula.  Lots of water birds like Cormorants sport in the waves, while I saw three Guillemots fly past, which Yang missed because he was looking out to sea with his binoculars.  Bluff Point is beautiful place for a hike and even a picnic.

 

 

 

 

We made it to the trail we call “The Secret Place,” even though it’s not so very secret since we usually see at least one person walking there – and that day we saw a few kayaks on the reservoir.  Anyway, I’ve blogged on this spot before:  click here.  On this Sunday, after bagels at the best bagels I know, Bagel Time, we saw some cool birds.  Here’s a shot of a Golden Crowned Kinglet.  These guys are so high up, it’s hard to get a really good picture.  Last year, we saw Ruby Crowned Kinglets like nobody’s business, but no Golden Crowneds.  So, yay!  we finally got to see the Golden Crowned.  We also saw one of Yang’s favorites, the Eastern Kingbird. Thank goodness these guys LOVE to sit on top of dead trees and stand out against the sky.  They are extremely bold and vocal.  You can see from his ‘tude, how he got the “King” in his name.  Yang also got this great shot of the Kingbord soaring through the blue, below.

And wouldn’t you know, here’s another Yellowlegs.  I’m not sure if it’s the Greater of the Lesser, but it’s definitely a Yellowlegs. To get a really good look, be sure to click on the photo.

We also saw a Mamma Mallard with her ducklings.  At one point, the kids swam into and around the Yellowlegs.  He was all, “What in Sam Hill?!”  But he kept on trucking in his direction and the kids kept trucking in their own. We saw Pappa Mallard fly off squawking, leaving Mom alone with the kids – and on Mother’s Day, too!

Finally, we did sight an extraordinary  first-ever bird for both of us:  a Blue-Winged Warbler.  Of course, we were unable to get a good shot of him, so I’ll include a professional photo of one.  this guy was a brilliant yellow, almost with a hint of orange; his wings were a blue-grey.  His color reminded me of the yellow warbler.  It was cool to hear him serenade us whole heartedly from atop a towering Maple. This photo perfectly captures exactly how he looked as he sang.  Click here for more info on this bird from the Cornell Lab “All About Birds,” also the source of this image

 

Finally, here’s a tale of Yang’s heroism.  We were walking on the Blackstone River Trail in Worcester, when from our vantage point on a bridge, Yang spotted a Gamera-sized snapping turtle flailing away on its back.  Yang’s first thought was to flip the turtle.  My first thought was for him not to have any limbs snapped off.  He figured on getting a a branch to use as a lever.  I figured to tell him to make sure the branch was thick and looong.  He managed to get down to the river bank, and it took him three thick long branches (because two of them snapped under 100lbs. of turtle), but he did it.  So enjoy the shots of the turtle he rescued.

 

So, that’s all for now – and I haven’t even reported on everything!

 

 

Halibut Point Feathered Friends

American Black Duck, birds, Cape Cod, Ducks, Eider ducks, Great Scaup, Halibut Point, Harlequin Duck, Long Tail Duck, Loon, massachusetts, New England, Rockport, scoter, Seal, , , , , , , , , , , ,
Two Fridays back, Yang and I happened to be on the North Shore, so we stayed overnight in order to make an early visit to Halibut Point State Park.  We’d been meaning to get there since November, after hearing about all the cool water fowl hanging out there.  Unfortunately, the opportunity hadn’t come up before this.  So, after our breakfast of bagels and cream cheese (yum!), we headed out to the state park.  We were not disappointed.  In the quarry, we spotted a Scaup, Black Ducks, and Mallards.  When we headed for the ocean, we got an even bigger treat.  Here you see me peering out at the ocean’s wonderland – or wonderwater- of ducks. Isn’t that point beautiful?

At first, we  saw only a couple of pairs of Harlequin Ducks, looking absolutely adorable.  All the FB bird groups to which I belonged extolled the plenitude of Harlequins out here.  So, we were happy to spot this couple chilling along.

 

 

 

 

Mrs. Harley seems to be finding a snack while her husband looks on.

Neat as this sighting was, things got MUCH better.  Looking all around and out to sea, we saw flocks of Harlequins diving, chilling, and looking good.  There were so many that we couldn’t always get them all in one picture.  I would say we saw several flocks ranging from 9-15 Harlequins.  And that’s not counting the friendly-neighbor Long-tail Ducks who joined the party.  Counting the ducks was never easy, because, all of a sudden, the whole kit and kaboodle would take a dive on a hunt for food.  So, Yang had to time his shots carefully to catch them.  I guess it’s true that these ducks love rough waters, because that’s exactly what they got here and in the other place we saw them, Sachuest Point, RI.  This was the biggest contingent of Harleys that I had seen. Though the ducks are hard to pick out in these pictures, if you just click on them you will get a better look.

Then we saw this Loon way off above the group of Harlequins.  It’s the white figure in the upper left corner.

Wouldn’t you know, we also saw plenty of flocks of Scoters. 

 

 

 

Here’s a closeup of a female Scoter.  I believe these are all Black Scoters.

 

 

When we moved onto the harbor at Rockport, Yang also got a shot of a male Eider Duck.  Usually we see big flocks of these guys, especially at Cape Cod (check out this older blog).  Today, we saw this guy all by his lonesome.

 

 

 

 

Then, finally, what should we espy on the other side of the point in the harbor in Rockport?  We thought we it was a brown female eider – except, Yang said that once the critter dived  he could see her  walking under water.  Huh?  Then “she” came up.

 

Yup, a seal!  So I hope this critter can be a “seal” of approval for today’s blog.

 

 

Gooseberry Island Redux – or Reducks?

birds, Ducks, horned grebe, Long Tail Duck, Loon, massachusetts, Nature, New England, Oldsquaw Duck, scoter, Uncategorized, winter, , , , , , , , ,
Yang and I returned to Gooseberry island on a sunny day for a change last Saturday – celebrating my birthday over the weekend.  This time, no fog and plenty of sunshine.  Also, plenty of water fowl!

One of the first sightings I want to discuss are the shore birds.  since we could actually get to the shore this time, we walked along the beach and saw a flock of shore birds whip around in tight and angular formation.  When we came around some rocks, we got a good look at these cuties.  I was surprised to find that we had a mix of Dunlins and Sanderlings together.  This time, I didn’t mistake their tummies for seaside rocks, so perfectly had they blended in with sand and sea-smoothed stones, when I saw them in December.  The Dunlins are brownish on top, with  buff tummies and long, slightly curved beaks.  The Sanderlings are grey on top with white tummies and shorter and straight beaks.  They were fun to watch scurrying about in search of dinner, all while seeming quite at home with one another. These images might look tiny here, but if you click on the pictures to enlarge them, you can see the birds much more clearly.

Apparently, the pickings were getting kind of slim, for Yang managed to snap a shot of some of these guys taking it on the wing for better dining.

We also saw plenty of birds in the water that day. With perfect visibility and trusty binoculars, we could sight dozens of Long-tailed ducks near the shore and way out in the bay.  Yang got some neat pictures of a few near us.  This male is a handsome specimen.  You can even see a little of his long tail in these photos.  Apparently, these ducks can dive as deep as 95 feet and can stay under water longer than any of the  diving ducks.  Wouldn’t Lloyd Bridges be impressed?  Yang took these pictures as we we heading toward the island along the causeway.

 

 

 

Coming back along the causeway, we found this Long-tail extremely close to shore.  I think it’s a nonbreeding female, but sometimes they are difficult to distinguish from an immature male.  I didn’t see a long tail on this duck, so I’m going to take a flyer and say this is a female.  She was quite unimpressed by the humans walking by.  She also didn’t seem to be much worried about the rocks towards which the surrounding waves  were shoving her.  Still, she did just fine for herself, bold duckess!

Another aquatic bird of which we saw tons were Scoters.  We saw Black Scoters, White-winged Scoters, and Surf Scoters.  Again dozens and dozens throughout the bay.  Yang was only able to photograph some of the Surf Scoters, but he got some good shots.  As we were coming back along the causeway, there was a trio: a male, a female, and an immature male (I believe). the female is brown with a white spot on either side of her head.  The males all have that unique pink beak with a white spot on the forehead, white on either side of the beak,  and one on the back of the head.  You can see that one of the males doesn’t have the white spots on his face.  We wondered if he were a Black or White-winged Scoter; however, neither type has a white patch on the back of the head like this fellow.  So maybe the younger males take time to get all their patches in?

You can see from this shot that the Scoters weren’t alone.  Here’s a  Loon photo bombing the Scoters.  We noticed him hanging out with this group from another species.  We also have a nice picture of the Loon by him= or herself.  I believe this is a Common Loon in winter plumage, but if I’m wrong, feel free to set me straight.

Another, smaller, diving water bird joined the show.  A horned grebe!  We saw one or two popping up (and back down again) amongst the various flocks of Scoters and Long-tails. Again, let me know if I misidentified the type of Grebe.

Last but not least, here comes the Bufflehead!  Usually there are big flocks of these guys around in the winter, but today, this chap seems to be swimming solo.  Well, it’s a big ocean and there’s room for everybody.  So where are the Harlequins?

Out of the Fog: Long-Tailed Ducks!

Ducks, Long Tail Duck, massachusetts, Oldsquaw Duck, winter, , , ,
We had planned last week to take a trip to Gooseberry Neck Beach on that Wednesday, since the day was supposed to be relatively warm (40s).  We didn’t plan on a fog that could make Londoners get lost.  Undaunted, we started out, first heading for Shastea in Providence for lunch.  Our hopes rose, as the fog seemed to dissipate into just a cloudy day once we got there.  So, would Gooseberry Beach be equally clear?  Nope!

The closer we drove to the ocean, the deeper the grey nothingness became.  We couldn’t even see the ocean! Nevertheless, when we pulled up at the beginning of the causeway to park, I had hopes that we might be able to see some critters swimming close to shore.  Bingo!

I got so excited, seeing this guy swimming around, taking a dive or two.  It was almost a year to the day that I’d seen my first Longtail last year at Silver Sands Beach in Ct.  Now, here was my second sighting.  Then, as my eyes adjusted to the fog, I realized that Mr. Longtail wasn’t alone.  Mrs. Longtail was also on hand in the rough and crashing seas, and she was definitely no slouch when it came to hunting. Yang took this cool picture of her arching up to dive deep for some seafood take out – which she’d be taking out herself.  You’ll have to forgive the fogginess of some of these pictures.  As I said, it was a pea souper!  I don’t know how the ducks were able to see each other!

I apologize for the fogginess of the photos – it was foggy.  If you click on the photos to enlarge them, they are clearer.

I wonder what she said to provoke THIS reaction?

Could anything be more exciting?  Yes!  as Yang and I walked  along the causeway, we came across more and more Longtails!  These guys were riding the roughest of seas.  It was fascinating to watch them crest some of those  rough swells. All told, we finally saw about three flocks of Longtailed ducks, males and females.  There must have been thirty ducks riding the rough waves, diving for food, chilling in the fog! Again, I apologize for the, literal, fogginess of the photos.  However, if you click on the picture, the enlarged version is reasonably clear.

I thought these two little ladies looked rather sweet.

 

 

 

 

I think this guy is starring in the duck version of I Had Two Wives.

 

Speaking of the moving image, how about Yang’s film clip of a diving Longtail?

 

And that’s the end of my duck tail!

 

 

Happy Harlequin Hunting: Only Shooting with a Camera!

birds, Deer, Ducks, Eider ducks, Harlequin Duck, mergansers, Nature, New England, , , , , , , , ,
For the past month, I’ve been seeing nothing but posts about all the Harlequin Ducks flocking down the coast of Massachusetts from Plum Island to Westhaven.  Never having seen one, I was eager to make a sighting.  Three trips to the coastal waters, and I was still a Harlequin virgin.  That is until Yang and I visited Sachuest (don’t ask me to pronounce it) in Rhode Island.  Of course, my prayers for a sighting weren’t answered at once.

We went down to a cove and saw two huge flocks of Buffleheads bobbing and diving in the waves.  They are adorable with their big white spots on the sides of their heads that look like ear muffs.  But no Harleys!  Then, coming back to the parking lot, to start the trail leading around the other side of the point, we saw four deer grazing nonchalantly in the marsh field.  Beautiful in their heavy winter coats – but not ducks.

 

We later even found a family of Eider Ducks, one adult male, one juvenile male and two females – joined by a Bufflehead, who popped up out of nowhere – but no Harlequins.

So, we made our way down onto a rocky beach after we spied some Lesser Scaups ( a first sighting, ever!),  some Surf Scoters, and a female Redbreasted Merganser, but no …wait!  What’s that black and white thing bobbing and diving out there? 

See the tiny white and black thing in the middle of the screen?  It was clearer and bigger with the binoculars.  I said to Yang, “It’s, wait , I think it’s, yes!  It’s a male Harlequin.”  Now before you say, “Hey, I can’t see a darned thing, wait, big deal,” it gets better.  After watching this guy and some Redbreasted Mergansers for a while, we moved on  – and came across another Harlequin chilling with some Scaups.  A little later, we came across a lone pair of Harlequins.  These shots are better, but not our top prizes.  I just love this one of the male flapping at us.  Camera shy or a show off?  You judge.

 

 

 

 

It’s really interesting to me that when the males look at you head on, with the light colored beak and the white stripe on their face, they appear more white-faced than they actually are.  When we got to another spot, Yang got some gorgeous shots that show off all their glorious markings. So, here you go with a set of photos of another  Harley pair from much closer up.

Here’s the male by himself.  Take a gander at that gorgeous splash of chestnut on his side, the way the white stripes demarcate the patches of black, and look carefully for that line of chestnut down the back of his head.

 

 

 

Here is the pair together.    Sometimes they point those short but sharp tails upward. Notice how the female has those lovely three white spots on the side of her head.  

 

 

I think they must have had an argument.  Yang and I noticed that the female did most of the diving/hunting.  Maybe she got sick of her hubbie posing for the papparazzi when she was doing all the work. Anyway, they briefly went separate ways.

Well, deers, er, dears, that’s all for now.

Mallard, Mallard, Merganser?!

Autumn, birds, Ducks, female mallard, mergansers, Nature, Worcester, , , , , , ,
The nature trail through the marsh/river across from Holy Cross has presented us with many an interesting critter.  We’ve seen deer, black snakes, muskrats and turtles.  Our avian sightings have included Great Blue Herons, Kingfishers, Red-winged Blackbirds, and assorted warblers.  Once, we even met up with a Bob White strolling back and forth in front of us along the promenade.  There hasn’t been a shortage of aquatic birds, mostly Canada Geese and Mallards.  However, for the past week, we noticed a Mallard flock of about 15-20 had an interesting guest!

What was an adult male Hooded Merganser doing in that flock?  There he was, swimming up and down the river with the flock – just one of the guys.  Occasionally, he’d disappear in a dive for food.  Then, back up he’d pop to join the crowd.  He seemed especially to bond with a Mallard couple.  Yang thinks that he was adopted as a duckling.  Who knows?  What do you think?  He is quite the beauty.  If only people could be as welcoming to the “different” as these birds.  After all, we’re all ducks.

 

Return to Colebrook Reservoir

Autumn, birds, Colbrook Reservoir, Common Mergansers, comorants, Connecticut, CT, Ducks, egret, Fall, Gothic, Greater Yellow Legs, hiking, mergansers, New England, Spotted Sandpiper, , , , , , , ,
Two years ago, Yang and I made our first trip to Colebrook Reservoir on a brisk Halloween afternoon.  What a treat!.  After at least a year of drought, the old Rte. 8 was completely clear and dry of the water.  We even saw part of the “ghost bridge” and the stone walls marking the boundaries of farms in what had once been a community displaced by the formation of the reservoir.  That day, we saw our first slate-colored juncos of the season, while the fall colors were still in bloom.  (Check out an earlier blog on our adventure here).

We came back last year, after an extremely rainy summer and discovered just how quickly a reservoir can fill up!  Not even a trace of the road we traveled between a slope of boulders and the water.  We were lucky the parking lot wasn’t swimming!

Ah, but 2022 brought another summer drought – and maybe the only good thing about the dearth of precipitation was that the way at Colebrook became so much clearer – though not nearly as clear as two years ago!

So, here’s my report, with photographic evidence!  On a gorgeous September afternoon, we were able to take the road (old Rte. 8) down from the parking lot for a bit of a stroll, until the inundation of the low road cut us off.  Were we daunted?  Not we two Yangs!  We scrambled over 1/8 to 1/4 of a mile of boulders flanking the waters.  You can get a bit of a picture from this photo, though you can’t see quite how steep the slope was – it was too hard to take pictures and scramble at the same time!

 

Where the road rose on higher ground, it was clear of water.  Unfortunately, there were gaps of low lying road that were inundated.  So, we managed to circle around the submerged road through rock-strewn mud flats, where we saw all kinds of fauna tracks:  deer, lynx, big herons.  We also saw some neat flora, as well.  I was taken with these nettles, some of which were accompanied by red berries.  Anybody recognize them?  We kept an eagle eye out for ticks!  Also, for fellow MSTKies, we did watch out for snakes.  None sighted – not even in the water.

It was fascinating to see how the wash of waters over the past few years had covered what was left of some of the road with gravel and how the flooded areas created islands of what had once been  roads.  Yang and I were both struck by how torn up the exposed blacktop had been since the last time we’d walked this road.  When we went through a stand of trees, we found some big trees down that we had to climb over.  No riding our bikes here the way we did two years ago when we had returned the day after Thanksgiving.

Last time we were here,  we had walked out to a highway bridge from the 1950s that crossed a stream emptying into what was originally a river (now the reservoir).  There was even a jetty to walk out on a little further along.  Well, at least the bridge was still there, but water was almost even with it.  Still we had a nice walk there and a little beyond, until the road dipped and the water filled in everything.  As you can see, we weren’t the only ones who enjoyed the bridge.  The area seemed to have become the playground for female and juvenile male Common Mergansers.  These ducks were having a grand time strolling about, splashing, and playing in the water.

Speaking of birds, Yang was disappointed not to see any Juncos (though it’s a bit early).  Nevertheless, he more than made do with the many water birds we saw.  Across the waters were Great Egrets, and on our side we saw several interesting types.  On the left is one of the Spotted Sandpipers we saw, though we usually saw only one at a time.  Maybe it was the same one a few times over?  We also saw this Greater Yellow Legs.  It might have been a Lesser Yellow Legs, but we didn’t have anything with which to compare him.  Less than whom?  There were plenty of Cormorants, too.

This was a pretty scene of the shore across the reservoir.  I really enjoyed the view.  Too bad we won’t be able to go back this year when the colors really go full-on autumn.

Of course, this is my favorite view.

 

 

 

 

 

I hope you’ll pardon me while I duck out now.

Late Winter Birds, Far and Near

American Black Duck, birds, cardinal bird, Common Mergansers, Downy Woodpecker, Ducks, goldfinches, hooded merganser, Kingfisher, Red bellied Woodpecker, Uncategorized, wood peckers, , , , , , , , , , ,
These waning days of winter have given Yang and I some fun bird watching, whether at home or away.  For instance, Yang went for a stroll one day on a canal that runs perpendicular to the Blackstone River and sighted some interesting ducks and the peripatetic Kingfisher.  So, the next day, I had him take me back there. Sure enough we saw some swell birds.  Yang got some really nice shots of a pair of hooded mergansers.  At first we thought they were both females, but I noticed that one had a distinctive long, pointed tail sticking above the water, as well as a fluffier brush of feathers at the back of the head.  I suspect that one was a juvenile male.  We either had a Mom and her teenage son or a Cougar duck.  Who can tell? Enjoy the pictures!

 

I also got to see the Kingfisher, a male.  I heard his excited chatter way down toward the end where the canal ran into the Blackstone.   I kept my eyes peeled until I saw a blob of white way ahead in a tall tree over the waters.  Training my binoculars confirmed my suspicions, bringing into focus a magnificent male Belted Kingfisher.  Yang came up and got some shots with the binoculars he could attach to his cell phone.  We had a great time watching His Majesty swoop down into the water, skimming along to fly off with his fishy dinner.

Further from home, we visited Forest Park in Springfield on our way to lunch in Montague.  This turned out to be the mecca for Common Mergansers. We saw tons of them in one of the ponds.  They were shy guys, as whenever we got  close to the shore, they paddled off to the middle of the pond.  Yang did get some nice pictures of them, though.  I love how the males gleam white, their green heads almost black.  Their head feathers in the back are far smoother than those of the male Red Breasted Mergansers.  In both these types of Mergansers, the females are beautiful, with their Rita Hayworth-red locks! Yang loves the ducks’ red beaks.

We also found some American Black Ducks enjoying the same pond as well.

Unfortunately, a nice swim almost ended in a trip over the dam! Can’t you just hear his wife yelling, “Dam/n!” Her husband responding, “Don’t you cuss at me . . . Whoa!!!”

 

 

 

Closer to home – as in  the bird feeders next to my house –  we’ve been seeing some nifty birds, old friends and new.  The Mockingbird and the Redwinged Blackbirds are back.  Would you believe that even in the snow, the Robins have been scooting about for at least two weeks?  Here we have a Robin and a Downy Woodpecker chilling (literally with all the snow)  in a tree outside my sun porch window.

I must say that this Robin loves his/her? suet.

 

We also had the pleasure of this Red Bellied Woodpecker’s company. Since it’s a female, it wouldn’t be the one who was stunned after hit our sun-porch window.  We brought him in in a box and let him warm up for about an hour then set him free. Whoosh!  He was in great shape and off to the races.  We see him and his mate here quite a bit.  They’re also big suet lovers.

 

Now, here some of our other visitors.  There are cheeky Goldfinches,

 

 

 

 

caring cardinals,

 

 

 

and perky Downy Woodpeckers.

 

Bring on the Rose Breasted Grosbeaks!

 

Adventures with Waterfowl at Silver Sands Beach

American Black Duck, birds, Brant Geese, Ducks, New England, Oldsquaw Duck, Silver Sands Beach, winter, , , , , , , , ,
Yang and I went to the beach last week when we had some warm weather– in New England, in winter,  you can call 40 degrees warm. It started out as a trip to Tea with Tracey in Connecticut for tea (obviously), but since the day was so sunny and “warm,” Yang suggested that after tea, we head to nearby Silver Sands Beach to see what birds might be visiting.  I think he felt bad for me because we were the only people at Plum Island the week before who didn’t see a Snow Owl. Anyway, once we got there, we were NOT disappointed, with a special guest star appearing that neither of us had ever seen before!
As we approached where the waves broke on the shore, we were delighted to see Herring Gulls mixing and mingling with Brant Geese.  The gulls I’d seen many times before.  However, I’d only seen Brants twice previously.  They were not afraid of us and let Yang take lots of photographs.  Here are some neat ones we saw of them along the shore.
When the Brants took to the water, they proceeded in well-ordered convoy fashion.  You’d almost think they were heading to Britain with Lend-Lease weaponry, on the watch for Nazi U-Boats.
Maybe they had air support from the Herring and Great Black-backed Gulls.  I think some gulls might even have been acting as the Armed Guard.

We also saw some old favorites, American Black Ducks.  Here are two in conference.

 

 

 

Over here is another guy just chillin’ on a rock.  Maybe he felt he’d be chillin’ too much, literally, if he joined his pals in the ocean.  What do you think?
Then, there was this lonesome stranger.  Yang and I spotted a white dot in the ocean.  We almost dismissed it as yet another Hooded Merganser, but Yang had second thoughts and trained his binoculars on this guy.  Well, what do you know?  A duck that neither of us had ever seen before.  He was a study in art decco black and white, with a whitish Presley pompadour swept and puffed up off his forehead. His yellow eyes contrasted with a black pupil.  Even his pink beak had symmetric black patches on either side! Then, when he dived, there was that long, slim tail flipping up.

What could he be?  A Harlequin Duck?  A funky Woodduck? A pintail of some kind? My guess was an Oldsquaw – and darned if a peek in my Peterson’s and a look on-line didn’t prove me right.  Now, some people don’t like the term “squaw” in his name, feeling it’s offensive.  So, considering that yellowish white pompadour, could we rename him an OldElvis?  Too soon?
Anyway, like our new friend, I’m going to take a dive and say, “so long!”