Bird Photos and their Stories
In breeding plumage, the Northern Shoveler is a handsome bird with striking rufous along its flanks and a bright green head. These colors are greatly muted in non-breeding plumage seen in the following photos taken in fall in Cape May, New Jersey. The beautiful sky-blue shoulder patch and green speculum are visible while the duck is […]
Harlequin Ducks are a feast for the eyes with all those stripes, spots, and exotic coloring going on! If you really want to see them though, it may require a trip in winter to Barnegat Lighthouse, New Jersey, and a treacherous walk along the giant rocks that make up the almost mile-long jetty. This year […]
The Eurasian Wigeon which breeds in Iceland, Europe, and Asia, is a common visitor to America, and is a handsome bird with its rufous head and pinkish breast. It shares some characteristics with its American cousin, the “Baldpate,” such as the cream-colored crown, white shoulder patch, and black at the back end. As stated in Audubon birds, […]
Ruddy Ducks are one of our smallest ducks, at 15 inches. They are all head, beak, and stiff tail, with a short body in between. They often swim with their tails upraised, and unlike other ducks they are able to slowly sink below the surface of the water. According to allaboutbirds.org, Ruddy Ducks can be […]
Hooded Mergansers: Identification Hooded Mergansers are my all-time favorite duck, and always a thrill to see during migration for ducks and geese in March. Such a dapper little duck in a tux, and a real attitude to go with it! Allaboutbirds.org describes them briefly as follows: “Hooded” is something of an understatement for this extravagantly […]
Red-necked Grebe Red-throated Loon, Ross’ Goose, many Red-necked Grebes, White-winged Scoters, various other ducks, as well as thousands of Snow Geese and Canada Geese were spotted by the members of a recent Pennsylvania Society of Ornithology (PSO) field trip. Because Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area above Lancaster, PA was frozen over, the trip became a Susquehanna river […]
Placard says “Pennsylvania Turtle Basking Habitat Platform” “Do not Alter or Remove” The Mergansers like to Bask there too, although one of them wants it all to himself! Common Mergansers, otherwise known as Mergs, Fish ducks, Saw bills, or Goosanders; are our largest duck species at 25 inches. They are long-bodied with bright red feet […]
On our way from Monterey to San Francisco, we stopped at Shoreline Park in Mountain View, hoping to find Burrowing Owls. We dipped on the owls, but found quite a few new species and lots of waterfowl on the bay and the lakes there. The park used to be a garbage dump for San Francisco, […]
Had to laugh today while watching this pair of Wood Ducks at Wildwood Lake Park in Harrisburg. They seemed to be having a disagreement over something, but they got it worked out in the end.