Look! A bird!

[apl68]

A formation of geese flew directly over me as I walked to work this morning.  Looks like they've decided that winter has been cancelled and are flying north again.

[Parasaurolophus]

There was a bald eagle in a tree by the river, and another very large bird, too. At first I thought it was a baldie too, but then I saw it had a dark head. Couldn't see it well apart from that. Maybe a golden eagle?

[mamselle]

A formation of geese flew directly over me as I walked to work this morning.  Looks like they've decided that winter has been cancelled and are flying north again.

Tell 'em to turn around and go back.

It's freezing up here (literally, just tuned 37 degrees, after a glacial 19-25 degrees last night...)

M.

[apl68]

A formation of geese flew directly over me as I walked to work this morning.  Looks like they've decided that winter has been cancelled and are flying north again.

Tell 'em to turn around and go back.

It's freezing up here (literally, just tuned 37 degrees, after a glacial 19-25 degrees last night...)

M.

Can't blame the geese for being confused.  This weather has us all feeling that way.

I've seen wood ducks at the city park a few times lately.  And was honked at by the park's tame geese this morning.  Their wild cousins are SO much more inspiring!

[paultuttle]

Earlier this afternoon, I caught a glance of something with dark-brown-and-white wings that looked a bit like a ruffed grouse flying up onto a low branch in the park next to my house.

By the time I'd stopped the car and looked back, it was gone.

[mamselle]

Earlier this afternoon, I caught a glance of something with dark-brown-and-white wings that looked a bit like a ruffed grouse flying up onto a low branch in the park next to my house.

By the time I'd stopped the car and looked back, it was gone.

Was it this?

   https://www.boston.com/news/local-news/2021/12/20/rare-asian-sea-eagle-massachusetts/

(kidding)...

M.

[nebo113]

Wood storks and ospreys in Winter Quarters....and as with Summer Quarters:  chickadees.

[sinenomine]

I encountered a bald eagle this morning while running errands; it was standing in the road, all of 20 feet in front of my car, and then flew off through an apple orchard. Very cool!

[evil_physics_witchcraft]

I encountered a bald eagle this morning while running errands; it was standing in the road, all of 20 feet in front of my car, and then flew off through an apple orchard. Very cool!

Definitely cool!

I saw five black vultures (looked like they were eating something on the side of the road) and, what I think were, two red shouldered hawks.

[mamselle]

I saw, first one and then several waterbirds with a lot of white and black...at first I thought possibly wood ducks, but looking them up, all the illustrations show more maroon and green and gold than I recall seeing.

They floated rather low in the water, and seemed smaller than the mallards I usually see...only other thing I could think of was a kingfisher but the only one I've seen in that area was much larger, and I think the colors are different, again, so....

Mystery bird, what art thou?

M.

[cathwen]

Several possibilities come to mind—scaups, goldeneyes, buffleheads, mergansers.  I used țo see all of these in winter when I lived in the Finger Lakes region.  Were they diving (disappearing under the water and reappearing) or dabbling (head underwater, rear sticking out above)?

If they were swimming in the water, they would not have been kingfishers.

[Puget]

I saw, first one and then several waterbirds with a lot of white and black...at first I thought possibly wood ducks, but looking them up, all the illustrations show more maroon and green and gold than I recall seeing.

They floated rather low in the water, and seemed smaller than the mallards I usually see...only other thing I could think of was a kingfisher but the only one I've seen in that area was much larger, and I think the colors are different, again, so....

Mystery bird, what art thou?

M.

Knowing where you probably were, likely Common Mergansers. They are petty distinctive the way the float low in the water, and are certainly common there in the winter, often in company of mallards. Only the males are black and white though. The females have more of brown head and grey body.

[mamselle]

Aha, thanks, yes, I forgot about mergansers....

The hooded merganser, here, is what I saw...or a very near cousin....

   https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/hooded-merganser

And they were definitely diving and tipping back up again like little seesaws.

Fora-wisdom does it again, thanks!

A friend who is a naturalist used to talk about seeing them out on a northern lake where we were both camp counselors (and did a 4 AM loon watch once, that was cool, too...) but I didn't see them then, myself.

In looking up options, earlier, I did identify as Mandarin ducks some very, very colorful waterbirds seen in Northern France a few years back, too.

Apparently imported, they were hanging about an open-air zoo near a very early watermill race (I'd been researching its 12th c. establishment as a bakery site for the nearby cathedral canons; a friend drove us to go see some of the early foundations for which there are account-book references in the archives)

Always had wondered what those were!

If I kept a life-list, I'd obviously add those to it...

M.

[nebo113]

Seeing lots of mergansers in Winter Quarters....and one Bald Eagle.

[evil_physics_witchcraft]

We have a good number of songbirds and other wildlife in the area- including Downy Woodpeckers. Unfortunately, I think there's one of the little shits making a nest cavity in my house. I love birds- really I do! I just don't want to share my house with them.