May 9,2020, Out and About

There were lots of birds out this morning on the walk

American Wigeon

Northern Shoveller

Common Loon

Song Sparrow

Great Blue Heron

Common Merganser

Hooded Merganser

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

Out and About

It was a cool (+3C) morning, but sunny, so a walk was in order.

Drake Common Merganser

These were the first that I have seen this spring. They looked to be in good shape.

Hen Common Merganser

 There is an old recipe on how to cook and prepare these ducks for the table. First you get a large pot, put the duck in it and add about a 4 pound piece of granite (rock). You then boil for about 3 hours. When the rock is tender, you throw the duck away and eat the rock. It works for other fish ducks also.

This pair will probably end up nesting fairly close to town.

I couldn't resist taking a photo of the first green thing in the beaver pond. It's a wonder that it hasn't been eaten!

This beaver pond was built in 4 steps with each step being about 6 feet deep. It goes back a long ways and holds a humongous amount of water!

The apple trees are starting to bud out and there were actually several lady bugs out already.

The first Robin of the year, in the back yard. Spring is here! You can't fool a Robin!