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.

Sharing this post with The Bird D'Pot, Camera Critters, and Wild Bird Wednesday.