Another tough winter on the Great Lakes has meant limited open water to see those precious winter ducks that I adore, but with last week's teaser thaw I was able to spend some time with quite a few species, starting with a Lesser Scaup at Whitby harbour:
A female Long-tailed Duck dabbled before diving:
And as always, the effervescent Mallard made me smile:
The next day I traveled to Presqu'ile Provincial Park for more waterfowl but first saw great views of the usual feeder birds, including this perky White-breasted Nuthatch:
After seeing Redheads and Canvasbacks in the same field of view through my scope, I lusted for closer looks so I left Presqu'ile and soon found a spot along the lake where I hunkered down for quite a while on the ice with hundreds of waterfowl and ridiculous amounts of waterfowl poop, you have no idea....
Duck Soup.
not one of my better segues, going from poop to soup, ewwww
Ingredients as follows:
Common Goldeneye
Mute Swan okfine, so it's not a duck
Greater Scaup, male...
...with a few females for good measure:
...and a smidge of feather fluff for that extra je ne sais quoi:
A year ago along the lake I had special views of Redheads right out of the water, both a female...
...and a male:
I thought I had died and gone to heaven.
Until last week when I had my closest views ever of these strikingly beautiful Redheads:
Hard to beat this for a handsome duck (unless you're a Long-tail!):
The pale female Redhead isn't nearly as striking as the male but is still delightful:
The male Redhead was on the move:
A charmer:
A beauty:
A twosome:
A preener:
A pretty lady:
It was at this point that the largepoop-covered shelf of ice at my feet abruptly broke off into the lake, scattering the ducks and the swans and the geese and of course me. NO SOAKERS FOR ME, PHEW. AND NO DOUBT IT WAS THE WEIGHT OF THE POOP THAT WAS THE LAST STRAW.
Duck Soup indeed.
And yes, it's a Swan, not a duck, heeeheeee.
A female Long-tailed Duck dabbled before diving:
And as always, the effervescent Mallard made me smile:
The next day I traveled to Presqu'ile Provincial Park for more waterfowl but first saw great views of the usual feeder birds, including this perky White-breasted Nuthatch:
After seeing Redheads and Canvasbacks in the same field of view through my scope, I lusted for closer looks so I left Presqu'ile and soon found a spot along the lake where I hunkered down for quite a while on the ice with hundreds of waterfowl and ridiculous amounts of waterfowl poop, you have no idea....
Duck Soup.
Ingredients as follows:
Common Goldeneye
Mute Swan okfine, so it's not a duck
Greater Scaup, male...
...with a few females for good measure:
...and a smidge of feather fluff for that extra je ne sais quoi:
A year ago along the lake I had special views of Redheads right out of the water, both a female...
...and a male:
I thought I had died and gone to heaven.
Until last week when I had my closest views ever of these strikingly beautiful Redheads:
Hard to beat this for a handsome duck (unless you're a Long-tail!):
The pale female Redhead isn't nearly as striking as the male but is still delightful:
The male Redhead was on the move:
A charmer:
A beauty:
A twosome:
A preener:
A pretty lady:
It was at this point that the large
Duck Soup indeed.
And yes, it's a Swan, not a duck, heeeheeee.
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