PHOTOGRAPHY BY DEB HIRT: Ring-necked Duck

Showing posts with label Ring-necked Duck. Show all posts

Sunday, November 1, 2020

110120 November Begets Ducks and More Waterbirds

Red-necked Grebe 1

Red-necked Grebe 2

Ring-necked Duck

Red-necked Grebe 3

Ruddy Duck

Common Loon

Today was another birding extravaganza with a second Red-necked Grebe, not in the exact vicinity as the first, but still remaining as a companion of other grebes. In the area of Heron Cove, a Colorado visiting birder and writer discovered three Horned Grebes, eight Pied-billed Grebes, a Common Loon, several Ruddy Ducks, a Ring-necked Duck, migrant Mallards, Franklins Gull, and multiple additional gulls (like Ring-billed Gulls ), Killdeer, and Great Blue Herons on Shorebird Jetty.

With all the action at Heron Cove and surrounding lowlands, which included Killdeer, House Finches, and more, there was no need to travel further, since time was spent getting better Ring-necked Grebe photos.

Happy winter birding!

Wednesday, May 15, 2019

First Week of May 2019 Boomer Migrants

Summer Tanager

Clay-colored Sparrow

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The above birds were coming through for migration. The two Summer Tanagers were at Heron Cove for two days, and the Clay-colored Sparrows stayed for several days, perhaps up to a week.

White-throated Sparrow

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This beautiful White-throated Sparrow visited for a day, along with several other varieties.

Cedar Waxwing

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This Cedar Waxwing is an irruptive, yet they can be counted on to arrive nearly every year, as of late. This was a very strong year, and at this time, I am not convinced that they will remain irruptive long. Since the northern winters are only getting worse, we may find these visitors to be predisposed to range expansion.

Green Heron On Nest

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This was the first day that I actively searched for a nest in order to not disturb the three Green Herons.
The nest is the lowest that I have ever seen it, though within normal parameters. Two eg were originally discovered, but I believe there are three as of this posting.

Female Ring-necked Duck

This duck was with Northern Shovelers and Blue-winged Teal. There were a total of two Ring-necked Ducks on this date.

Male Northern Shoveler

The group of males were feeling there oats and very intensely affected by a testosterone flow. Some were more combative with one another than some. The few females ignored most of the battles.

Blue-winged Teal Pair

This lovely pair is a nice example of Blue-winged Teal in breeding plumage.

Male Northern Shoveler

This photo shows a nice view of the beautiful colors of a male in breeding plumage.

Willets

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Originally observed from the west end of Heron Cove, I was unable to determine what these large shorebirds were until I got much closer. At a total of 18, these were beautiful examples of a migratory group of Willets not often seen at Boomer Lake.

Sunday, February 4, 2018

January's Birds of Boomer

Greater White-fronted Goose

Red-bellied Woodpecker

Adult Cooper's Hawk

Northern Mockingbird

Female Belted Kingfisher

Brown Creeper

Red-shouldered Hawk

Northern Cardinal
on bradford pear tree

Red-shouldered Hawk

Ring-necked Duck

January 2018

The weather was very unsettled and very dry this month. However, there were a few warmer
and springlike days where there was a little action.

The White-fronted Goose was on Boomer Creek just off Goose Island with a Canada Goose pal, and there appeared to be more Cackling Geese than usual for the month, even though there was so little
cold weather. There lake barely froze this winter.

This also means that it is highly likely that with unseasonable weather there will be a greater amount of feeder bird illness this winter. This will bear watching and most likely a lot of feeder cleaning and seed changing to keep up with this problem.

Hawks have been visiting the area frequently, so there could be a need to stop feeding for a period of time, as songbirds could easily fall victim to a swift and hungry hawk.

A few ducks have been visiting with us on and off, for they prefer colder weather.

Many songbirds seem to be affected by the springlike weather that has been with us. Will we have an early spring with early birds? Time will tell, but it appears rather probably. Now all we need is a few
good rains to give us a good crop of spring fruit.