Wetland Delights on a Miserable Day
Laurentian Wetland
Kitchener, ON
10 November 2013
On a miserable day, with the temperature struggling to get to 5°, and periods of sunshine rudely interrupted with rain and ice pellets, I decided to do a little birding!
We are blessed in this area with an abundance of small to medium sized wetlands, and Laurentian Park is one of my favourite spots. I thought that Northern Pintail Anas acuta might have returned, and I was not disappointed. Unfortunately the pair that I found was not in a position to photograph!
There was lots of activity on the water, however, and I was fortunate to catch one of the sunny interludes which were occurring with ever less frequency. Other than the ubiquitous Mallards Anas platyrynchos and Canada Geese Branta canadensis, Northern Shoveler Anas clypeata was most abundant.
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| Male Northern Shoveler |
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| Pair of Northern Shovelers |
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| Bottoms up! |
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| Northern Shovelers |
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| Canada Geese with Northern Shovelers |
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| Two Male Northern Shovelers |
Ring-billed Gulls Larus delawarensis filled the sky, calling raucously, and many were feeding in the wetland.
I was very happy to see this female Hooded Merganser Lophodytes cucullatus.
The shovelers are always nice to see. I myself have never been this fun on the photo. Pintail get a next time probably in the picture :-)
ReplyDeleteActually, I'd love to get a picture of Pintails. They are such elegant ducks, but they always seem to be foraging in or near the opposite part of the wetland!
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