Yesterday at the refuge several Buffleheads were diving for food. If they catch anything, they eat that while still underwater, so I won’t be bragging about any photo of a Bufflehead with food in its bill. However, their dive can be quite dramatic.
Buffleheads are very small ducks, as you can see in the following shot.
I have been saving photos of birds over the past several weeks, waiting for an opportunity to post them. Here are most of them, in no particular order.
The Black-headed Gull comes from Europe and, about fifty years ago, has begun appearing in North America in small numbers. I saw a group of about a dozen of them on Wildlife Drive for the first time last week. They did not seem too shy, like most gulls, and I was able to come close to them.
Other birds that I photographed are well known to most of us.
Goslings are now commonly seen at the refuge and are often the subjects of the cutest Spring scenes.
Goslings and mother.
Goslings and parents.
“You are eating WHAT?”
My internet connection has been very iffy these past two weeks, and it was only last night that it came back to normal and allowed me to read emails and access various sites, including WordPress. My apologies for not having been able to respond to your comments or visited your posts. I will try to catch up for sure.
Our yellow Magnolia tree flowers late, and has managed to attract Bluebirds for the second year in a row.
Bluebird on yellow Magnolia branch.
The Bluebird, or its partner, checked out one of the birdhouses I put up.
Bluebird checking out birdhouse.
However, there is no sign yet that the birdhouse is occupied by any bird.
Meanwhile, during a walk around Colonial Lake, I saw an abandoned Canada Goose egg on the ground, near the water. It was quite big, but there was no Canada Geese around it.
Abandoned Canada Goose egg.
Canada Goose egg.
One can see many Canada Geese at Colonial Lake, either swimming in the water or grazing onshore. I have no idea why this one egg was left out in the open with no mother goose tending it. Another mystery.
Colonial Lake close to home is quite small, but it has a good variety of wildlife. An old Canada Goose, named Hank by the locals, does not seem to fly any more and enjoys eating the bread crumbs and cookies that people throw to him.
Hank, the old Canada Goose.
Squirrels are abundant, and at this time of the year they are stocking up on acorns and other wild nuts to prepare for winter.
Squirrel at Colonial Lake.
An Eastern Phoebe had something in its bill, but I couldn’t tell what it was. They usually eat small insects, and sometimes small fruit or seeds.
Eastern Phoebe.
A Ring-billed Seagull landed with a splash and caught something in its beak.
Ring-billed Seagull.
The champ was a Great Blue Heron who caught three fishes in less than 10 minutes as I photographed him.
Canada Geese are always present in our area, even in the deep of winter. I found a group of them sleeping on ice at the EBF refuge, with temperatures in the teens (-10°C) during the day and even colder at night.
Canada Geese sleeping.
Some, however, were not sleeping and were already dabbling for food in a patch of water.
Canada Goose dabbling. Note the open eyes of the two other geese next to it.
Monday was a cloudy and rainy day. At the Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge a Great Egret was standing by himself, very dainty and haughty in full breeding plumage.
Great Egret
A family of Cannada Geese with nine goslings loved the weather and went in for a swim.
Great Egret: “I tell you, this is why we need birth control!”
Of course, the goslings thoroughly enjoyed the water.
Second gosling from the right: “Who cares what he says!”
For this weekly photo challenge, I am submitting a photo I took this morning at Abott Marshlands near Hamilton, NJ. A pair of Canada Geese were walking on the mud banks at low tide, and one of them had a broken wing that was almost touching the ground. Since the injured bird was larger than the other, I am assuming it’s a male. The female goose followed him faithfully, but I don’t know what she could do for him. I also don’t know what caused the injury, but it could be the result of an attack by some predator, such as an eagle or a turkey vulture. In any case, it must have been quite an adventure for this pair of geese! I hope he will somehow survive his ordeal.