Wednesday, July 30, 2014

Spring Birds - Waterbirds

I've seen quite a few lifer water birds this year, I really like water birds, I think they are great photo subjects.

I've included waterfowl and gulls in this family group. As I am writing this post we are getting ready to leave to Churchill tomorrow, so it is a bit rushed.

Franklin's Gull
 Hooded Mergansers were fairly common. This picture shows a male and a female, the male is showing off it's nice hood.
male and female Hooded Mergansers
 I saw some Black Terns at Oak Hammock Marsh, a lifer.
Black tern


Blue-winged Teals were not lifers
Blue-winged Teal
 A flock of cormorants
Double-crested Cormorants

The only two Snow Geese I saw of the year so far, my brother got this picture
 Lesser Scaups were lifers
A pair of Lesser Scaups

 Buffleheads and a Blue-winged Teal

Northern Shoveler

Canvasbacks

American Coots
 Canada Geese are aplenty, goslings waddling around their parents
Canada Geese with goslings.
 Pelicans are fairly common, soaring high in groups, easily identifiable. We got really close to some pelicans with Christian at Lockport.
American White Pelican


Pied-billed Grebes are not a lifer.
Pied-billed Grebe
 Ring-billed Gulls are the most common, but Herring Gulls can also be seen, like this one at the Whiteshell
Herring Gull
 Common Goldeneye's were the most common waterbird earlier on in spring migration. I learned that Goldeneyes can nest in trees while we were in WhiteShell
female goldeneye climbing into tree hole

Common Goldeneye
 My brother got this really good picture of this Ring-billed Gull
Ring-billed gull

Ring-billed Gulls flying

Canada Goose flying overhead

Ring-billed Gull

Mallards are very common

Common Mergansers
 A treat we saw this spring, Tundra Swans
Tundra Swan

Stay tuned for the next post.

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