They Continue to Come!

A lot of the migratory birds are back, just to get hit with a major snow storm!

Common Goldeneye

Northern Shoveller

Great Blue Heron

Common Merganser

Common Merganser Pair

Common Merganser Drake

Great Blue Heron

Yesterday Was a Ducky Sort of Day!

It was a great day for pictures! Alas, the River is opening up and the birds are dispersing to their nesting areas. In the meantime, I had fun!

Here are a pair of Common Goldeneye

A Canada Goose making a big splash on arrival

Two male Greater Scaup

A Pair of Bufflehead

A Male Common Goldeneye

A male Hooded Merganser

Tundra Swans

The Tundra Swans are a lot bigger than the Canada Goose!

A pair of Mallards

Canada Goose Mating ritual

Three Canada Geese fighting for the right to mate

Cold Day on the River!

A few ducks over winter on the River. I haven't come across many this year. Here is a female  Common Goldeneye that decided to be a northerner. She was staying in the current and letting the new formed ice flow around her. There is enough current here that the river stays open.

Honkers and Quackers

Lots and lots of birds are showing up daily

 

Houston, we have lift off

 

The males are all decked out in their breeding plumage!

The fields are full of Canada Geese.

 

Another Mallard...ho hum!

 

 

I just missed this fly-by of some Tundra Swans. Maybe next time!

 

Saturday at The River

The Athabasca was getting quite crowded in down town Whitecourt. Most of the small lakes are still frozen so the birds are hanging out along the edge. There were several Bald Eagles around, but I was not able to get photos.

 The mallards are back and starting to pair up. I don't understand why their feet don't get cold standing on the ice!

There were lots of European starlings around also hanging about.

 The sun on the Common Goldeneye makes the iridescence  really stand out, along with the bright yellow eye.

 The Canada Geese are now paired up and the males are on guard keeping the eye on the eagles.

 Cruising the timber's edge.

 I know where to go next time for some in-flight shots. I need practice at this part!

In the Field With the Common Goldeneye

The Common Goldeneye is a very pretty bird and is one of the first ducks to return for the summer.

They are very distinctive and easily identified from a distance.

These guys were just puddling along the edge of the ice in the pond.

Good to see them back!