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Common Merganser fishing on Lake Nelson

We'll stop posting merganser photos when they migrate north

Common Mergansers swimming left to right with male in front. Hooded Mergansers swimming right to left with male in front.

A Ducky Day

 

Pied-billed Grebe

 

Green-winged teal

 

Hooded Mergansers

 

Common Mergansers

We've been lucky to have a few more fancy ducks this year. The teal only stayed for a few minutes, but the grebe, and hooded mergansers have been here a while. The common mergansers are less common here, but we've seen them a few days.

Grackle and Squirrel

 

The grackles have come to town.  Another nuisance - or so we at first thought!  Chris was driving them off and looking online for inventive ways to get rid of them when she discovered maybe it's not so bad to let them hang around.  They are only here for a few weeks, and they eat bugs!  If they're willing to eat the awful centipedes that sometimes wind up in the house, we're all for letting them stay!  Now, whatever is going on with the head of this one we don't know.  They usually have a beautiful shiny blue head, but this one either has some albino traits or a bad case of alopecia or mange or molting or something.  We're willing to let them hang around but not all that interested to spend more time figuring out the odd looks of this one. 

 

There's a new philosphy around here; if you cant beat them, join them.  Even though it's been a very tame winter this year, there were a few very cold days when the squirrels looked miserable and hungry. They continued to raid the bird feeders, driving Chris crazy, so she broke down and bought them their own corn cob treats.  They ate through those pretty quickly and seemed most appreciative.  Since they are sort of comical and fun to watch when they're not invading the birds' territory, Chris decided to put out some over ripe strawberries to see if they would like those.  Seems it's best to keep the little critters occupied with treats which keeps us all happy.

Killdeer. photo by Rob - Hamilton, NJ

Here is a recent shot of a Killdeer at Lake of the Lilies in Pt. Pleasant Beach that your viewers may enjoy.

Duck, Duck, Goose

We never tire of hooded mergansers.

Hooded Mergansers blowing in the wind

Today's windy weather brought some more hooded mergansers.

Two Hoodies

While we are sad about losing the polar ice caps, we are happy that hooded mergansers are staying all winter.

Ring-necked Duck

The warm weather has brought a few different birds to Lake Nelson. The Ring-necked Duck appeared this morning. It tried to hang out with the hooded mergansers but they wanted nothing to do with it.

Junco getting a drink

 

This has been a weird winter. The juncos may be heading north and some catbirds have already been reported. Chris thought she heard an oriole yesterday.

Seagull Catching A Fish

 

New Jersey Ducks

Northern Pintail


Northern Shoveler


Hooded Mergansers


We finally got out birding this weekend. The top two are some ducks from the Meadowlands. The hooded mergansers are from Lake Nelson. We've had two males and a female for the past day, possibly the same group that was here in the beginning of the year.

Birding in Knoxville, Tennessee

Mike had business in Knoxville this week and Chris went along to look around. We didn't do any serious birding, i.e. no binoculars, but brought along a point and shoot camera. We were surprised to see some flowers in bloom.









We also saw a red-bellied sapsucker and many cardinals.

Common Merganser Visiting Lake Nelson

 

The worst weather brings the best ducks.

Cruising Ft Lauderdale

We took a long weekend trip to Florida to remind ourselves about sunshine and to see a few birds that migrated south. When we got to the rental car counter, Mike decided to upgrade to a convertible.







We were a bit too early to check in at the hotel, so we decided to go to Brian Piccolo Park to see if we could find burrowing owls. This is a small park, mainly for soccer, baseball, jogging and skateboarding, just outside of Ft. Lauderdale. It happens to attract burrowing owls, and there are about 10 owl nests burrowed into the ground leaving small mounds of dirt that make them easy to find. The nests are scattered around and mostly on the side of the roads within the park. The park has each nest roped off to protect it. After a few minutes, we figured out where the nests were, but we didn't see any owls. We drove from nest to nest and then noticed there were a few other cars with retirees cruising the area as well. A little different experience than cruising Ft. Lauderdale at spring break in the 70s.



We did see some monk parakeets however.







Anyway, we went out for lunch and to pick up some champagne for mimosas the next morning, came back and now that it was a bit later in the afternoon, we saw two active nests. Unlike most other owls, they are active in the day but they do avoid the noon heat. At Brian Piccolo Park, owls are accustomed to cars and joggers going by, so they don't mind a little activity near the nests and are easy to observe.






As we left one nest, we saw some sand that the owl was throwing, and when we returned to get a photo, he was back in his burrow. We read that in spring you can see the owls standing outside the burrows with their chicks.

These owls were featured in the book and movie Hoot about a group of school children trying to stop the construction of a restaurant near the Burrowing Owls' habitat in Florida.

Heron: Photo by Joe

I woke up this morning and found this beautiful bird sitting in my back yard. Considering how cold it was this morning and how close it was to my house, i had to take photos from my bedroom window. It stood approx 3 feet tall and didnt seem to mind my 80lb dog that was in my yard when it landed. I am not sure exactly what kind of bird it is but suspect it is a Heron. Any information you can share on this bird, i would love to read.



Joe, This is indeed a heron, a Great Blue Heron

Sharp-shinned Hawk

 

On cold winter days, many birds come to our feeders. Unfortunately, this hawk is aware of the congregation and sits in a nearby tree waiting for an opportunity to make a meal out of one. It's hard to sit by and do nothing, but we have to let nature work things out. If only the hawk would go after the squirrels instead - we are having our usual winter battle with them. Chris finally decided if you cant beat them, join them and bought a corn block for the squirrels. Now they're eating that and still getting on the bird feeders!

Birds near Shanghai, China

Mike took a business trip to China last week. Here are few photos of birds encountered near Shanghai.

Cormorants used for fishing


White Wagtail


Long Tailed Shrike



Yellow-browed Bunting


Yellow-billed Grosbeak


Light Vented Bulbul



 

Winter on Lake Nelson

Cormorant on the Ice


Red-bellied Woodpecker at the Birdbath


It's rare to find the red-bellied woodpecker at the birdbath. However, our heated birdbath is the only water that isn't frozen. The cormorant is still hanging around, but we wonder what he's eating.

Another Day of Hooded Mergansers

 
They remind us of Mini Coopers amongst a bunch of 18 wheelers.

 

 

Our favorite ducks, the hooded mergansers, have been staying for two days now. They have been interacting a bit with the mallards and Canada geese.

Starting the New Year with Hooded Mergansers on Lake Nelson

We are really appreciative of the unseasonably warm temperatures we are having. It gave us a nice opportunity to sit outside and wait for the Hooded Mergansers to come close. They still have not climbed up on our island, but Mike is still hopeful. One cormorant seems to claim it everyday, though, so the Mergansers may never have a chance. Today we have two males and one female, so we hope they stay around and wait for another female to join the group.