We admit our mistakes…
Mid-40s, overcast with an occasional (VERY occasional) spot of sunshine, 25-35 W winds, on-and-off sprinkles.
We went down to Finger Bay this morning and found a Wandering Tattler, but it flew off before photo ops. Back up in town, we found the siskin again, this time roosting in a tree around the corner from the ones at the feeder, because it was more sheltered from the current wind direction (poor Isaac!). Also, the siskin was singing (calling?). It looked a little healthier today.
A couple of days ago, while with Steve and Alan, we stopped at Shotgun Lake and saw a single duck out there that looked different. It was tail-on to us, and the lighting was funny, and it was at a good distance. The butt appeared to be black (like a Gadwall) and the rest of the bird appeared plain (like a Gadwall). Steve radioed to us “Is that a Gadwall out there?”
Although it looked funny, the jizz said to me that it was a wigeon, and I responded as such. However, being easily influenced by the opinions of other birders, I began to question my initial take on the bird. I studied it as best I could under the conditions, and just couldn’t convince myself either way. We finally decided to count it as a Gadwall and added it to our trip list without mentioning it in this blog. However, it still bothered me.
Today at Haven Lake, we saw it again–in better lighting, but farther away–and concluded my initial impression was correct–it was a wigeon. One of the things that bothered us about this bird was that it was alone. All of the other wigeons (Eurasian) that we had seen on this trip were paired already. So now we believe it is a female American Wigeon, which is why she has no mate. There aren’t any male American Wigeons here right now. If anyone wants to tell us different (Ie. is it an Eurasian?), please do.
Here are a couple of photos–and, to illustrate a point, the first one shows the original photo before cropping.
American(?) Wigeon, Haven Lake, May 27, 2013
American(?) Wigeon, Haven Lake, May 27, 2013
American(?) Wigeon, Haven Lake, May 27, 2013
Most of the migrant waterfowl have left, but a few Common Goldeneyes are still around.
Common Goldeneyes, Lake Shirley, May 27, 2013
On the way up yo Zeto Point, we saw a funny-looking merganser. It looks like it just hasn’t fully molted into breeding plumage like all the others here. However, he was paired up with a female–so I guess she didn’t mind…
Red-breasted Merganser, Smith Lake, May 27, 2013
As I said in a previous post, all of the feeders are active–just no Asian birds.
Gray-crowned Rosy Finches at Sandy Cove Bluffs Feeder, May 27, 2013
So our trip list remains at 58. Three days to go.