Just a simple portrait of an extraordinarily common bird. We have a small flock of Canada geese that winters at work, with a few cackling geese sometimes present too, but since they make a mess of the sidewalks I think I’m the only one that is happy to see them. To me they are also a reminder that beauty lies not too far outside my cubicle walls.
This picture was taken not at work but at, well, you can probably guess.
I don’t get to see blue-winged teal very often so it was both a privilege and a joy to watch a mated pair this spring at Ridgefield. What a magnificent creature!
One of the distinguishing marks of killdeer compared to our other plovers is their distinctive double breastband. Except when they are babies, that is, as when they first hatch they have but a single band. At such a young age their stubby little wings only hint at the majesty of flight that is to come.
I arrived early with the fog, which soon lifted to reveal a day both cloudy and surprisingly warm. I spent the first couple of hours at Horse Lake, a small pond at the start of the auto tour, delighted with the opportunity to finally photograph the beautiful American wigeon. Wigeon are common at Ridgefield during the winter but I had always struggled to photograph them.
I made this note in my journal later in the day:
“Took me almost five hours to make my first loop of the auto tour. Sadly I don’t think that’s even close to being a record for me.”
It was a good day.
This American wigeon drake shows off his dabbling technique, tipping forward with his head underwater, eating plant life from the floor of the lake, while kicking with his webbed feet to hold his position.