Mostly Water Birds

 It is that time of year, when most water is frozen, that an open spot is where water birds can be found. And since most other birds are scattered far and wide, and difficult to photograph, any place of open water is a worthwhile place to check out.

One of my 'go to' places this time of year is a warm water outlet along the Thames River, on the downstream side of Chatham. There can be hundreds and hundreds of water birds, as this first photo illustrates. There are at least as many other birds upstream, to the right, of this image.

Canada Geese can be fairly abundant......

....but a closer look reveals these two very similar Cackling Geese with their shorter, stubby neck, smaller body size compared to nearby Canada Geese, and a stubbier bill.

There is often a variety of other ducks that have dropped in, sometimes for a day, or sometimes longer, such as this female Bufflehead.

This male Wood Duck is one of the most vividly colored ducks.

American Black Ducks are more common in winter.....

.....and when the opportunity arises, will try out a fish dinner, although it has to be quick as other ducks and gulls will attempt to go after it, hoping that their harassment will force the duck to give it up.

It is not uncommon to see a duck that has a mix of Mallard and Am Black Duck genes. This next photo shows an Am Black Duck with a distinctive green stripe on the head, likely indicative of some Mallard heritage at some point in its past.

 Mallards are, of course, one of the most abundant species anywhere, and this location is no exception. Probably at least 95% of the waterfowl here are Mallards.

 

 

A female Common Merganser is occasionally present...

...as is a Common Goldeneye. You can see that the ice is a common resting place for the waterfowl!

I much prefer this photo; the same bird, but location, location, location makes all the difference in the appeal of the photo!

Pied-billed Grebes are very uncommon at this time of year. This is one I saw on the St. Clair NWA Christmas Bird Count at the beginning of the month, just a short distance down stream from this spot. Apparently it has decided to hang around for the time being.

There is often a small number of gulls cruising up and down the river, or stopping in for a rest, such as these two Herring Gulls were observed doing.

Not really a water bird, but crows are scavengers and there is often a handful in the immediate vicinity waiting for an opportunity.

Just upstream from this spot is where a Peregrine Falcon sometimes overwinters, as it is able to feed opportunistically on a large flock of Rock Pigeons that hang out on some of the commercial buildings. I haven't seen any sign of the falcon yet this year, and presumably the pigeons are resting more comfortably. And even though some of the buildings have added fake Great Horned Owl and Peregrine Falcon decoys on top of the buildings to scare the pigeons, clearly they haven't had much effect, as this next photo shows. I haven't seen any pigeons land right on the owl, but certainly within a couple of metres! The sky leaves a lot to be desired, at least from a photographic perspective.

The ice is building rapidly out in Lake Erie, although there are a few open spots within view of Erieau. I was there a couple of days ago and noticed several thousand ducks crammed in to three open spots, two out in the lake and one in the bay. This first photo is immediately across the main channel. There were probably at least a couple of thousand ducks there, the majority of which were Greater Scaup, with Redhead, Canvasback, Lesser Scaup, Common Merganser, Red-breasted Merganser, Bufflehead and Common Goldeneye mixed in, but in much smaller numbers.

There were flocks in the air regularly, as birds moved around from one open spot to another.

After leaving Erieau, I went to Rondeau for a nice long walk, and always on the lookout for birds. Birds were few, and even a usually active bird feeder was devoid of birds, which probably was due to this non-bird critter rooting around for something to eat.

Along the water front was this adult Bald Eagle, perhaps waiting for something to drift by.

Today, I went out to where the Pump Road meets the Thames River, and had a lot of ducks in the open spot a few days ago, including Snow and Greater White-fronted geese. There were very few ducks or geese of any kind on this visit, but I did see this light-phase Rough-Legged Hawk on the prowl along the grassy bank, hoping to flush something out to chase down. It was always facing away from me, so this is the best I could do.

If you want to subscribe, or unsubscribe, to Nature Nuggets, send an email to: prairietramper@gmail.com