Greater Scaup - Female

 Sometimes there are so many birds in front of me that I don't really take in the full detail of an individual. This was the case, obviously, with the female Greater Scaup. It was a matter of not seeing the forest for the trees, I guess.

Last week I made my daily jaunt to Quidi Vidi Lake. The ice is going out of the ponds now and most of the Tufted Ducks and Scaups have move to other smaller ponds, except for one. There in front of me was one Greater Scaup all by itself.  The head was looking more of a rich brown than I had seen before. The feathers seemed

more fluffy than I had seen. The bill seemed larger than usual.

I looked and looked at it wondering if this could be another kind of bird. Well, a flip through all of the bird guides indicated that it had to be a female scaup. The rounded head and larger bill were good indicators that it is a Greater Scaup. To make sure I sent the picture to a birder to confirm. I was wavering between the Greater or Lesser variety but once I applied the descriptors to this little bird, I was sure that it was a Greater Scaup. 

The lesson here is I need to take more time and look more closely, even when the birds are plentiful. This one looks like it has spruced up for Spring.  In the meantime when a small duck is all by itself, it is important to look really closely because it could turn out to be something quite different and rare.  In fact one such bird has made a pit stop at QV for the last three days. I will post pictures of it soon.

Rare Drops:  We had some major winds coming up the eastern seaboard late this week and it dropped at least two rare birds in our midst. One of them is a Great Egret, the second one spotted here in the last week. The newest arrival was quite busy moving about yesterday causing birders to scour all possible marshes. It has proven to be elusive.

Tattered Black-headed Gull

 The Black-headed Gull is typically a very sharp looking gull, both in the winter and summer. In the winter it loses it dark brown head and transitions into a white head with a dark spot on the head. It is small by gull standards and has great black marking on the tips of the wings and tail.

 It is the time of the year for birds to change back into their breeding plumage to look even more stunning. I spotted this Black-headed Gull from a distance and noticed that its head plumage was changing so I began to shoot it as it flew in to land at QV Lake. As it got closer I was very surprised to see the sad state it was in. It looked like it may have been tossed and turned by a predator, as I don't think even the winds we get could do this.

Nevertheless, it seemed healthy. It flew strong and still had a glint in its eye. My guess is that this torn up little gull is a survivor.

When birdwatching, everything is not perfect. Sometimes I witness a raptor chasing and/or capturing a smaller bird; I see birds that look like they have battled for their life; I have seen great birds like a Merlin dead on the roadway; and occasionally, I come upon a bird in the wild that just didn't make it. All of these things are a part of the bird watching experience. After all, in Nature it is all about the survival of the fittest.

Bufflehead - QV

 This little female Bufflehead put in appearances at Quidi Vidi Lake off and on throughout the winter. I tried taking pictures at that time but had no luck. Finally, on March 28 ( a sunny day, I should add) I found her busily swimming about in the open water near the Rennie's River outflow.

This little duck is so small and so busy that it is difficult to catch it by itself and in a favourable light. But, this day was different. It seemed more tame and stayed closer to the shoreline.

I watched in surprise when it flew with the rest of the ducks to get a share of some seeds being scattered by another bird lover. It seems right at home with the more tame birds that frequent this area.

Now that Spring is here, will she move on to reconnect with other Buffleheads or, better yet, will a male Bufflehead come to QV to take her away.  These kinds of questions are what keep birders going back to QV Lake - over and over. Most often there is something new and engaging for the aficionados.

Feeder Birds

 Since the calendar says its Spring I have been trying to resume some of my spring-like activities such as walking and gardening. With Winter battling to hang on my walks around Long Pond are tantamount to walking on a Slushy and my gardening is limited to putting seeds in an indoor sprouting box. Although today has been hopeful with the 13 degree high temp, it is not expected to stay. I have been in my driveway sprinkling snow from the huge banks on either side of  on to the driveway (that's a change) in order to hasten the melting process. I want it gone now!

While it was a bit tricky to stay on my feet while walking the Long Pond Trail, I was rewarded with a few common feeder birds feeding on the seeds left behind by walkers before me. The Red-breasted Nuthatch above is very quick. It would flash in, get a seed, and flash out. This Blue Jay on the other hand was considerably more bold. It stayed to eat up and lick its lips while I looked on.

 Beyond the trails many faithful backyard birders continue to top up their feeders with the delicacies that the small birds just can't resist. A small flock of Common Redpolls periodically returns to this feeder near Quidi Vidi Lake. It is not a good place to take pictures because it is necessary to stay in the car and that creates quite a distance to the feeders. This one looks like a little angel bird.

 The Purple Finch are increasing in numbers these days and can be found at several feeders around town. The female Purple Finch have been more prevalent than the males. I am waiting for a great opportunity to shoot some shots of the male. Their plumage is quite bright at this time of the year.

 Then, there is the Fox Sparrow whose first appearances in April heralds the arrival of Spring. When we see the Fox Sparrows show up, it just confirms that the calendar is right. Now, all we have to do is get the weather to cooperate.

This great little Fox Sparrow was photographed in Goulds where it stayed at the feeders for less than 5 minutes. Those 5 minutes happened to coincide with the arrival of a woodpecker at the top of a far-off tree. I was straining against the back light with my binoculars to determine if it was a Hairy Woodpecker (have never seen one) or the very common Northern Flicker. I lost the good opportunity to photograph the bird-in-hand because I was trying to id the "two-in-the-bush." It turned out to be the Northern Flicker.

Follow up to Who Birds?:  I had five responses to the question posed relating to personality types and birdwatching. Where there were some similarities, there was no across the broad personality dimension that applied to all. In order to get any kind of pattern, it would really be necessary to have at least 100 samples.  I guess I will go on puzzling over who would find birdwatching an enjoyable pastime.