Spring is in the Air

Today, for the first time, it really felt like spring could be just around the corner. It was pleasant enough out that I got to eat outside, drive with the windows down, and even take my first flower photographs of the year! While this unseasonably mild weather has been difficult for the winter Olympic games taking place here in the Northwest, it has been great for getting outside. Today I took advantage of it to spend 45 minutes at the Rhododendron Gardens where I saw 19 bird species, including all the expected waterfowl.

There were two double-crested cormorants hanging out on the lake. In this version of the photo it's harder to see, but click to see the larger version and look at that turquoise eye!

The birds are sensing the changing of the seasons, too. There was lots of courting going on among the mallards and wood ducks, and the American wigeon and gadwall were definitely hanging out in pairs rather than large mixed flocks. This male wood duck wasn't far from his prospective mate:

The neat thing about the Rhododendron Gardens is that you get great views of a wide variety of duck species. It's a great place for the beginning birder to learn the common local waterfowl. The mallards and Canada geese also get fed a lot there, making them especially tame. That makes for some unique photo ops, like this close-up of part of the wing of a female mallard:

Canada geese normally dominate the scene at this park, but today there were easily more than 400 cackling geese there. They look so petite and, I must say, cute, compared to their larger cousins. Look at those tiny beaks!

As mentioned, the flowers are starting to bloom as well. The first of the rhododendrons are blossoming as well as some early daffodils. As far as native plants go, I also noticed yesterday the first Indian plum blossoms while on a walk in my neighborhood. Indian plum is always one of the earliest plants to flower every year.

When I got my new camera in December, I also got new lenses that don't feature some of the macro options my old lenses did. I'll have to take a different approach to flower photography, but I liked a few of the results today.

Eurasian Wigeon and Other Waterfowl

No more outdoor ice skating at Westmoreland Park, which means it has returned to being a winter birding hotspot. Someone had reported a Eurasian wigeon there a couple days ago, so yesterday I decided to head out to try and find it. It wasn't until I reread the sighting report a little more carefully that I realized it was a single female Eurasian wigeon, which was going to make the task of finding it a little tougher. Female ducks aren't nearly as difficult as immature gulls, but they are not my specialty! So, I consulted the Sibley's on the nuances of female wigeon identification and off I went.

There were hundreds of wigeon at the park, but I found her! I was lucky that she was in a flock that was grazing on the grass rather than in the middle of the lake. I was able to pick her out of the crowd by her head, which was obviously a warmer brown color than the grayish heads of the female American wigeons. Check out this comparison shot, with the Eurasian in front:

The above photo neatly shows all three of the (admittedly subtle) field marks. First of all, the difference in head color as I mentioned above. As a result, the American wigeon has a starker contrast between the neck (gray) and chest (brown) plumage, while on the Eurasian its all a cinnamon brown color and blends together. Secondly, the forehead is steeper on the Eurasian and more sloped on the American. Finally, and you may have to click to enlarge the picture to try and see this one, the gape (the base of the bill where the two mandibles come together) is black on the American wigeon and there is no black on the Eurasian. Here's another nice photo showing just the female Eurasian:

In addition to birding Westmoreland and I head over to the nearby Crystal Springs Rhododendron Gardens which is another great place to view and photograph wintering waterfowl. Over the course of the afternoon I saw 20 species, eight of which were new to the year list bringing me up to 49 species on the year. The new species included three ducks and my first gulls of the year (since Dave requested it a while back, stay tuned for a gull quiz coming up in the next post!). Here are a few other photographic highlights from the day:

A bathing male bufflehead

A beautiful male wood duck - their plumage always looks almost painted to me

A male lesser scaup

A pair of gadwall

A pied-billed grebe that somewhat uncharacteristically wasn't shy and didn't just swim straight away from me