Canvasback Ducks at DeKorte

We went to the DeKorte Park's Lyndhurst Nature Reserve today. We didn't see the northern shrike that has been reported there, but we did see quite a few canvasback ducks. Most were resting with their heads on their backs, but we found a male (top photo) and a female (second photo) that were awake. The male's head looks brilliant when the sun catches it.

European Starling from the Meadowlands

 

Yellow-Rumped Warbler from the Meadowlands

 

 

Eastern Phoebe from the Meadowlands

 

Meadowlands birds

Egret

Downy Woodpecker

Juvenile Mute Swan

Ruddy Duck Family

We went to the NJMC Environmental Center in Lyndhurst, NJ on Sunday AM. We are a little early for many of the migrating birds, but we did take a few photos. The highlight was the baby ruddy ducks. It's not a great photo, but they are very small and stayed by the small island away from people. They were so cute diving underwater.

The juvenile mute swan is showing off its foot. We have a bit of a debate whether this is a deformity because the foot seems too high on the back and it didn't ever seem to put it in the water.

A quick trip to the meadowlands

We took a quick drive to Richard W. DeKorte Park in the meadowlands.
It was a nice day for a walk in the sun and we enjoyed the few birds we saw. However, we also like having a bottle of wine on our dock and waiting for the birds to come to us.

Tree Swallow

Gadwall

Northern Pintails

We finally made it to the Meadowlands to see some migratory ducks. It was a pretty good day with a wide variety of ducks. We had never seen the pintails or the shovelers before. Here are the best photos of the northern pintails.

Northern Shovelers

Chris has always wanted to see a Northern Shoveler, or at least since we bought a book on the birds of the east coast last year. Today was our lucky day, there were several Northern Shovelers at the Richard W. DeKorte Park at the Meadowlands. The large bill of the shoveler must have been the inspiration for Daffy Duck.

Buffleheads at the Meadowlands

 

 

While we have observed an occasional bufflehead on Lake Nelson, we had never seen large groups or females before. They were a real treat at the Meadowlands.

Ruddy Ducks at The Meadowlands

 

 

There are several bird blinds set up at the Meadowlands Environmental Center. At one, we saw about 100 ruddy ducks. We were quite amused to see all of them dive under water at once several times.

Green-winged Teal

 

American Black Duck

 

Mallard at Meadowlands Environment Center

Although we enjoy the fancy ducks, we like this mallard photo too.

Cormorant in Flight

Mute Swan at the Meadowlands

 

Egret at the Meadowlands