Waterfowl: The First Wave

 

March has certainly come in like a lion here lately. Whiplashing between blizzards and abnormal warmth, it's been an interesting run as of late to put it mildly. Birding had been pretty slow though and the mess from the blizzard made biking not terribly appealing, so I focused on the area around my yard and neighborhood. With the warmer temperatures post-blizzard, I had hopes of getting some short-distance migrants, especially Red-winged Blackbird, which has been a longtime first sign of spring for my family. 

On Saturday it was windy, but warm, and I was itching for a walk. White-winged Crossbills had been popping up all over the place, and I was hoping maybe I could snag some. I hooked up the dogs and walked around the neighborhood. The melting snow and mud were full of great smells for them, and they had fun. We dodged meltwater and thawed rotten things along the road. Other than the usual suspects, not really a whole lot of birds on the first half of the walk. Then I heard a Purple Finch singing from a conifer in the neighbor's yard. Not a crossbill, but a good green species, and never really a given this far south. I was happy to add it to my list, especially with the high winds, which kept activity low the rest of the day. 

Sunday was a gorgeous day, 70 degrees. Ridiculous for early March. The open water around the aerators in the lake was starting to expand to the point where I could see open water from the yard. Trumpeter Swans have been roosting there at night and have been making a real racket as of late and night as they settle down to sleep, and with south winds, I knew some new stuff had to be coming in. I decided to walk out and scan the water. It would be a good chance to test out the zoom of my new camera too.

Not a whole lot of variety, but always a treat to see swans from the yard. It never gets old. Decent numbers of Mallards, Canada Geese, and Ring-necked Ducks though. More than the last day. Things were clearly changing. I good a couple of good photos too, at least for a long distance away. I'm learning to use this thing, slowly! 

Later on the back deck as we were enjoying the weather and a beverage I heard a familiar sound - "konk-ka-ree!". Red-winged Blackbird! A male was flying around between conifers and the cattails in the back, scoping out a potential territory. I was so glad to see him. The promise of spring is a much needed distraction in my life right now. A Swamp Sparrow chipped from deep in the cattails as well, not a bad bird for this early either (they are common in the summer). The next day promised more warm weather and south winds. That plus some new sightings further south filled me with hope for the next day. 

I couldn't wait to get home from work on Monday. I quickly went back and scanned the water and immediately noticed more shapes and colors - and some new species right away. I decided to walk out on the ice a bit in the shallow cove and scan it a little better. Two Red-winged Blackbirds were in the area now, and they were already squabbling and singing their hearts out. Music to my ears. 

Mergs!

There were lots of Ring-necked Ducks now! Amongst them there were lots of other divers - Common and Hooded Mergansers were showing their fresh plumage and doing lots of courtship displays. While scanning through the mass of waterfowl, I noticed a different looking goose - Greater White-fronted Goose! Then another! This was exciting. Not only was it a green bird for the year, but it was a new yard bird altogether. It wouldn't be the first this evening. 

Trumpeter Swans and a white-front 

...and another Greater White-fronted Goose

I sifted through the waterfowl over the next 20 minutes or so and found a couple of Redheads (another yard bird), a Lesser Scaup, and a few American Wigeon (green year bird) also. A Song Sparrow called from the cattails, and a Killdeer flew overhead. Two more green year birds. Fun - it but was time to come back and eat dinner. I couldn't stay inside though and brought dinner out on to the deck. 

A couple of distant Redheads

It was a fun evening of watching birds fly overhead. Flocks of ducks and geese constantly cycled through the area and sometimes over the house. Another flock of "specklebellies" - Greater White-fronted Geese - was a treat, and then a scan of a Canada Goose flock revealed a little tiny one mixed in - Cackling Goose! Another yard and green year bird. Later a flock of ducks was flying towards the house, and their shape struck me as different - Northern Pintails! An uncommon species that I was worried about missing potentially. Not anymore! Another new green bird and yard bird. Awesome. I stayed outside until the cooling temps and dark drove me inside. I still need to listen for Snow Geese and Tundra Swans flying over at night - but there would be another time. 

Find the American Wigeon!

What a fun day. I added eight green species over the last several days, all around the neighborhood. Pretty darn good. Now I'm really eager to get out on the bike and start covering some more ground, there are still more species to mop up before spring migration really gets going - Long-eared Owl, Pine Siskin, White-winged Crossbill, and who knows what else? Warmer temperatures are forecast for the next several days before another cooldown - and the snow is gone now, so it will be bike time! 

Thanks for reading!