Recent Water Bird Sightings

I've been spending a lot of time at the Sackville Waterfowl Park.  It's a beautiful setting and a great place for me to get some exercise, but it also affords some great opportunities for photographs.  From the name of the park, you can tell that it's popular with water birds.  These are bird species that I don't see in my own yard, so I really enjoy having a place to go and observe them.

The belted kingfisher was an exciting bird for me - not something I see very often.  This is a female, as evidenced by the chestnut-coloured bands on the belly.  She was at quite a distance so the shots aren't great, but they'll do!

I enjoy seeing the mallard ducks, even though they are "ordinary" ducks.  They still make me smile.

I always laugh at their feeding poses, sticking their feathered bottoms up in the air.

Another duck that is prevalent at the park is the American Widgeon.  This is a female.

I often see the great crested cormorant at the park.  They are really large compared to a lot of the other birds.  At this time of year, they are not in their breeding plumage, but I look forward to seeing them in their finery next year.

I've already blogged about the lesser yellowlegs, but here's an extra picture in case you missed that blog.

The grebe is one of my favourite water birds because it dives into the water so quickly and you would never even know it had been there.  Suddenly, it will surface in a completely different spot.  I find them a bit tricky to photograph because they are such busy birds, but this one was more agreeable.  I believe this is the pied-billed grebe, but the bill takes on a less distinct appearance in the non-breeding season.  I like the way the water weeds are adorning the back of this one.

Here it is just about to dive again.  You can see how the point between the neck and body has gone underwater, and the body is tipped forward, in contrast to the picture above.  The grebe can dive for up to 30 seconds at a time, seeking out fish and crustaceans.

On one of my visits, I was lucky enough to see a great blue heron coming in to land.  I wasn't able to get great shots of it, but I was still fairly pleased with the results of my efforts.  The wingspan is quite remarkable.

Here the heron is coming in for the landing.

Such an elegant bird.  I liked this photograph because the purple loosestrife (nasty, invasive weed that it is) really looks lovely framing the grey-blue colour of the heron's plumage.

I'm hoping to see, and photograph, more water birds at the park as time goes on.

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Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs

On my recent visits to the Sackville Waterfowl Park, I've seen a lot of Lesser Yellowlegs (LY), and some Greater Yellowlegs (GY) as well.  They cluster together on little marshy patches in the water.

As you might well guess from their names, the LY is smaller than the GY, but otherwise, you'd think that they were very closely related to each other.  Recent research suggests that might not actually be the case, but they do still look very similar.

 Just look at those bright yellow legs!

They each seem to like to have their own little mud or grassy clump to stand on.  

Sometimes, little altercations break out when one bird challenges another for its spot!

 

 
The LY is generally a little more "tame" than the GY, so they will allow you to get a bit closer to them.  This has been especially helpful in allowing me to get some great pictures of them.

The GY and LY spend most of the summer in northern Canada, especially Nunavut, where they breed and raise their young.  In July and August, they begin their migration.  The waterfowl park is one of many important stopping areas along their migration route.  The GY and LY spend about a month or so at the park each year, with the primary purpose of gaining weight.  In fact, they typically double their weight in that month.  I learned about this from the park tour guide staff, who were leading a tour last week that I overheard!

After this significant weight gain, they begin the next leg of their migration.  Some will end up in southern Florida and Texas, but a large percentage of them will actually fly across the Gulf of Mexico and spend the winter in northern South America, particularly in Suriname.

Such a tremendously long migration for these little birds.  No wonder they need to gain so much weight here before making their journey south.  I am glad that they stop here - we are lucky to have them visit and allow us to see them on their annual journey.

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