Nice photos Diana. The last one on the blog page caught my eye - " Blue-winged
Teal with Cinnamon Teal". The Blue-winged male appears to be a hybrid with
a Cinnamon Teal. The whole background color of the body is cinnamon. Cool
bird.
Mark Nikas
On Wed, Apr 18, 2018 at 10:36 PM, Diana Byrne <diana.byrne@xxxxxxxxxxx>
wrote:
I visited Malheur NWR for a few days with my husband Alan, and we enjoyed
seeing all the ducks and Snow Geese and Ross’s Geese and Sandhill Cranes
that are typically here in April.
We saw thousands of ducks in the smaller ponds and wetlands south of
Benson Pond, with all the expected varieties, plus we had fun finding a
single Eurasian and a pair of Wood Ducks among the large numbers of
Northern Pintail, Northern Shoveler, Green-winged Teal, American Wigeon,
Gadwall, Mallards, and many Redheads, Canvasbacks, Cinnamon Teal, Lesser
Scaup, Ring-necked Ducks, Bufflehead and Ruddy Ducks.
Highlights at headquarters today were a bright Nashville Warbler,
Bushtits, and a Harris’s Sparrow that has been reported at the feeders for
the past two weeks.
Benson Pond has Trumpeter Swans (one with a green neck band) and several
Tundra Swans. Sora and Virginia Rail are calling at Buena Vista ponds, and
an American Bittern was hiding in plain sight just south of Benson Pond
along the CPR.
Krumbo Pond has water, and a good diversity of ducks. At Krumbo Reservoir
were Horned Grebes and Eared Grebes in their bright breeding plumage, and a
Common Loon.
There is a good amount of water in the fields near Burns, along Greenhouse
and Hotchkiss Lanes, but almost no water at the Narrows. Ruh Red Road has
no water except one small area towards the east end, that yielded a pair of
Blue-winged Teal.
Photos of Malheur birds and scenery are posted at http://portlandbirder.
blogspot.com/2018/04/malheur-nwr-in-april.html
Diana Byrne
diana.byrne@xxxxxxxxxxx
