We visited Huntley Meadows (http://www.friendsofhuntleymeadows.org/) late
this afternoon, around 3pm.
While the water areas still had partial ice covering, much of the wetlands
were open enough for the plethora of waterfowl there - we observed:
~40 green winged teal
~10 northern pintails
~20 northern shovelers
~20 mallards
gaggles of Canadian geese
There were also a large number of GULLS hanging around, 3 or so distinct
flocks of RED WINGED BLACKBIRDS (each seemingly with 1 male and his
harem), a handful of CAROLINA WRENS and a decent number of WHITE THROATED
and SONG SPARROWS.
Of particular interest to me was one lone duck which I still can't
identify. The shape of it made me think "wigeon", but with my Sibley now
in hand, I'm not quite sure. Scaup? Redhead? It was quite rufous (though
the sun was low and making things look nice and orange), but not very
pattern-filled. It was only slightly smaller than the female shoveler
near it at one point (photo 3). Can anyone help me identify it?
http://talking-dog.com/grebe/photos/birds/huntleyDuck/20070127_duck1.jpg
http://talking-dog.com/grebe/photos/birds/huntleyDuck/20070127_duck2.jpg
http://talking-dog.com/grebe/photos/birds/huntleyDuck/20070127_duck3.jpg
http://talking-dog.com/grebe/photos/birds/huntleyDuck/20070127_duck4.jpg
-Renee Grebe
Alexandria, VA
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