The Wigeons in Newfoundland

 Last week, before the on-set of our real winter, I was at Bowring Park. There, I saw a female wigeon. At the time, I thought I would just check pictures when I got home to make the identification. That turned out to be a bit more complex than I initially thought.
It is easy to identify the male wigeons as their different head color is pronounced. This American Wigeon shows green while the Eurasian Wigeon has a reddish-brown  head. (Note 1: The American wigeon is sometimes referred to as a "baldpate," due to the white streak on the crown of its head. I don't know if this applies to the Eurasian or not.)

I don't think I have ever really given any thought to identifying the female wigeon, because I always assumed the female hanging with the male would be the same species. Wigeons begin to pair off when they reach their wintering grounds; in this case, Newfoundland. Pictured above is a pair of American Wigeons. (Note 2: I was surprised to see eBird considers the American Wigeon to be rare in Newfoundland. Perhaps that is because of a lack of reporting.  According to our Newfoundland Checklist, the Eurasian Wigeon is more uncommon than the American. I do believe the distribution of wigeons here this year will bear out the local rating.)

 Here, I have a pair of Eurasian Wigeons. The female stays close to the male, and that is why I know what species she is. (Note 3: The average lifespan of a female wigeon is 1.7 years while the lifespan of the male is 2.3. I can't help but wonder why there is a difference.)

When I began my quest to learn more about the differences between the female American Wigeon and Eurasian Wigeon, I was really surprised to find this to be a big challenge.  The Peterson Field Guide and others, provide minimal information about the differences. Essentially, the descriptions provided were these: Female American Wigeon - Brown with gray head and neck. Belly and forewing whitish; Female Eurasian Wigeon - Similar to American Wigeon, but head often brown and tinged with rust. A defining field mark of the Eurasian Wigeon is the dusky colored "wingpits."

This picture of a female Eurasian Wigeon is probably the best example I have to match the description above.  The head does show a bit of rusty color.  In case you are wondering, this photo was taken on January 1, 2010, so the rusty color doesn't seem to be associated with breeding. But, what if the rusty color is not present, which is sometimes the case? There must be other field marks that differentiate these two species.

My Internet search turned up some very helpful articles. It seems I am not the only one struggling with this identification. (Note 4: Sources I found helpful are cited at the end of this post.) When flipping through my collection of pictures, I found this shot taken some time back in my Eurasian Wigeons folder. Now, I am having second thoughts. The sources provide info to cause me to re-think my ID on this female.  I elaborate below.

 

 This is the bird I found on January 28th at Bowring Park.  The additional information provided by ABA and ADFO gave me a few more identifiers to work with. Color: The female American Wigeon will have a cold gray color on its head vs. the warm brown color of the Eurasian. The head of the Eurasian can be much darker than the body. Nevertheless, there is a lot of variation in head color, making it quite complicated to identify the birds with in-between colors. So what else can I look for?  Head shape: The Eurasian has a steeper slope from the base of the bill to the top of the head, which happens to be flatter than the American Wigeon.  Bill: The American Wigeon often has a black line that runs along base of the bill and a black line that runs along the side of the bill, referred to as a gape line. (Easily seen on the second picture above.) Often is the key word here. It is not always present. However, the gape line never appears on the Eurasian, so the presence of a black gape line indicates an American Wigeon. (Note 5: This dark line at the base of the bill is shown in the field guide but there is no mention of it.)

Neck: There "tends" to be a distinct contrast between the neck and breast of the American Wigeon that is not present on the Eurasian.   Weight: The American Wigeon is slightly bigger, weighing one ounce more than the Eurasian.  Face: The face of the female Eurasian Wigeon is often plain while the American Wigeon shows more black around and behind the eye. Underwing: This may likely be the most telling field mark. The female American Wigeon shows white axillaries and wingpits.  These areas on a female Eurasian show as gray and do not stand out. 

So, not being able to see the underwing, what wigeon did I see at Bowring Park. My guess is a Eurasian. This is why I think so: There is a steep slope from the base of the bill to the head, the top of the head is  flat, there is no gape line on the bill, there is no black line at the base of the bill , and the face is plain and darker than the rest of the body. Challenges: There is no distinct gray or reddish color on the head; I can't see the neck to see if there is a contrast between the neck and the breast.

It can be really confusing when the field marks are only present sometimes and are so variable. The subtle variations make identifying a little bird like this very difficult. I made the call of Eurasian Wigeon based on the "whole is greater than the sum of its parts."  I focused on size, shape and overall color. Am I right? Would a make a wager on it? No.

The second photo in this post seems to best exemplify all of the field marks of the American Wigeon as shared above, and the fifth photo is the best example of a female Eurasian Wigeon that I have in my photo collection.

The great resources I studied when drafting this post were very helpful and provide a lot more detail than I have. For the interested, visit: http://www.azfo.org/gallery/EUWI_female.html
http://www.aba.org/birding/v37n2p156.pdf

Drive around Conception Bay

Last Thursday was a lovely day, despite the high winds. Margie M. and I took a drive around Conception Bay to see what we might find.  In the beginning, it didn't look very promising. There was nothing at Topsail Beach and very little at Chamberlains.  A check at Loretta's feeder yielded nothing. The temps were sitting at +6 degrees, and it was possible the small birds had moved to the woods. We finally saw our first Common Mergansers, quite a large flock of about 100 individuals, at the end of the arm in Holyrood. Farther up the road, we saw one interesting small bird cross in front of us; however, when we stopped, the high wind and traffic contributed to a very noisy setting and our efforts to relocate the bird failed. Then, there was Avondale - it is pretty much a "given" to see the Bufflehead in this area. Par for course, as soon as we drove out to the wharf, they immediately began to move off-shore. As we drove around Avondale, we had quite a good look at this small flock of Bufflehead near the road.

Then, it was on to Clarke's Beach and Spaniard's Bay. There was the usual  flock of Common Goldeneye, even more as we passed by on the return trip. With the distance, high winds and rough waters, it was impossible to get a fix on any single bird long enough to be able to look for the Barrow's Goldeneye. The ducks bobbed up and down, often swimming directly toward us or away from us.

Reacting very quickly, I was able to get this "snap" of a pair of Common Goldeneye that happened to be swimming close to the road. Within seconds, they drifted off into the distance.

The best opportunity to look at sea ducks happened in Harbour Grace where this flock of Greater Scaup actually swam toward us. All in all, it was a great chance to see the expected species of sea duck that inhabit Conception Bay each winter. With no surprises and gale-force winds, we didn't linger long.

I like to make two trips to this area each year, one in the winter and another in late August or September to see the shorebirds that settle into the area.

Peregrine takes a Dovekie

 When I awoke yesterday and saw the nice day dawn, I decided to spend a couple of hours out in the sunshine. When I arrived at QV Lake this nearly mature Bald Eagle was attracting a lot of attention. It sat for awhile until another mature Bald Eagle flew by.

In no time this one flew off to join  the other. Next, I made a quick stop at Caledonia Place where there was a lot of feeder activity, but nothing of note.

On the drive out to Cape Spear, I saw five Blue Jays. This was a high number as I haven't seen any for about a week. When I first arrived, I met Dave Smith. While we were talking, four small birds flew right over us. They were not juncos, and they were not Goldfinches. In hindsight, I think they were Common Redpolls.

 From the lookout, I could see numerous Black Guillemots that are beginning to transition into their breeding plumage.  I tried to turn this little Dovekie (three sighted) into a murre, but when I got a good look at the side view, it was clearly a Dovekie. (Other birders on the scene spotted the Purple Sandpipers on the rocks below.)

 Then, when I least expeced it, I saw the bird of the day.  When I was driving away from the Cape, I spotted this raptor flying along the water's edge. I tried my best to get ahead of it so that I would have time to get out and take a picture. The bird kept up with me. Finally, it cut across the road, where I got a look at the underneath. I saw white on the underside and was really puzzled about what this very large bird could be.

As it flew off into the woods, I grabbed the camera and got these two pictures.  I began to look at the pictures. With my eyes strained from staring into the light, I thought I was looking at a black and white barred tail. Catherine Barrett arrived and looked at the pictures. To my amazement, she pointed out the Dovekie hanging in this birds talons. Amazing! That was the flash of white I saw as it flew over.

Was this a hawk or a falcon? The pointed wings indicate a Falcon, a large one - either a Peregrine or a Gyrfalcon. These pictures had to be processed. I tried really hard to turn this bird into a dark-morph Gyr, but Paul Linegar and Bruce Mactavish both said the same thing: The barring on the underside of the wing belongs to a Peregrine.

It was really remarkable how speed, size, lighting and awe kept my eyes and attention focused on the whole bird causing me to miss the dangling Dovekie altogether.

Long Pond Regulars

 By contrast with the cold, really cold weather we have been having, Wednesday at -3 degrees was wonderful.  I spent the morning birding and could actually take off my gloves to adjust my gear.

When I unexpectedly found myself with a free afternoon, too, I decided to go for a walk around Long Pond. The trail was in good condition, and there was lots of bird activity.

I was really surprised by the number of birds, nothing special, but lots of birds. The scattering of bird seed all along the trail was the draw.

There were bags of sunflower seeds, sprinklings of mixed seed on the ground, and hanging suet and seed blocks all along the way. There weren't many walkers which provided me with plenty of opportunity to tuck myself away into the edges of the trees and just watch the show.

 The first three photos above are the usual shots I get in this area. I was hardly prepared for this Red-breasted Nuthatch that swept in and landed so close to me, I could hardly adjust the lens to handle a shot. It stayed for more than a minute, just checking me out. Perhaps, he thought I was bringing more food.

 What a great moment! It is a marvel to see a typically busy, little bird take a breather and just stay still.

Try thinking about anything else when birding. It isn't possible. Birding has a way of peeling away all of the layers of the world, leaving only the moment at hand.

This was a real bonus, and before I knew it, I had whiled away yet another two hours of sheer contentment.