Category Archives: Great Scaup

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?

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.

 

 

Cape Cod: Winter Vacation Haven for Ducks!

birds, Common Golden Eye, Eider ducks, Great Scaup, mergansers, Nature, New England, winter, , , , ,

Saturday gave us a brief break in the frigid January temperatures, so we made haste to the Cape for some bird watching along one of the shore rail trails.  We’d come here about the same time last year, give a take a couple of weeks, and made some splendid sightings, thanks to  the migration habits of ducks. Coming earlier this year proved smart, for we saw even more of some of the beautiful winter vacationing ducks we’d seen last year.

Of course the traditional mallards were there.  Here is a lovely couple we saw serenely paddling about a marsh pond.  We also sighted some more exotic types:  Buffleheads, Common Mergansers, Redbreasted Mergansers, American Black Ducks (and the Mottled subspecies), Wood Ducks, and Swans.  Unfortunately, we couldn’t get close enough for pictures of those unique sorts.  Still, this close up of the male mallard that Yang took captures his (the duck’s) brilliant emerald head feathers.

 

 

 

 

We also got some wonderful pictures of  of the rather unique vacationers.  There were loads of Eider Ducks. Last year we only got  pictures of a pair of Eiders, but this time Yang got several great shots.  First, we saw a few males floating near the shore.  The contrast of their white and black feathers is gorgeous.  Could they be art deco ducks? They certainly didn’t seem terribly camera shy when Yang snapped their pictures.

 

Later, we saw the eiders in a flock of males and females in the water.  The females are dark brown with a beautiful white band just above their beaks.  It looks like the shadow roll that race horses wear.  We had quite a number to see.  We also saw large groups of Common Golden Eyes and Great Scaups.   What I found especially interesting is that the flocks of two or three different ducks would all be grouped together, floating nonchalantly along, no one fighting for food or ascendancy.  I wish people could get along so well.  But who knows what the ducks got up to once my back was turned.   I especially like this picture of the male Eider and the male Common Golden Eye just chillin’ together.

After almost two hours of enjoying the fresh sea air and checking out the ducks, we found that the temperature was dropping.  So, we hopped in the car and proceeded to the Dunbar Tea Room for lunch – and some great tea!  People may love the Cape in the summer, but in the off-season, it can be a bird watcher’s delight!