Good Things

A few good things from the last two weeks.  An old rabbit's foot fern off to a new start, a sleepy Pied-billed (I think) Grebe, and some Shovelers and Teals enjoying a bit of open water in a frozen pond.

Sunrise Shovelers

Quack?

Well, actually none of these ducks quack.  The male Green-winged Teal whistles and the Northern Shoveler male makes a soft snuffling kind of sound.  Their females do "quack" a bit but not as distinctively, or to quote allaboutbirds.org, quintessentially as the female Mallard.  The Ruddy Ducks, on the other hand, offer up the sound of their wings beating the water as they fly away from me.  They make a popping noise too but I can't say I've heard them do it.

Fall at Tinicum

Bills

The Northern Shoveler is serious about bills.  Amazingly enormous bills.  Huge. 

Ducks at Heinz NWR @ Tinicum

Northern Shoveler

Maybe a Green Winged Teal??  Nope it's a Mallard!

American Coot

It was a beautiful, if chilly, morning at Heinz NWR.  My fingers were pretty cold but the ducks were so obligingly close by that I had to keep taking pictures.

Loving Ducks, Part 2

I drove out to Edwin B. Forsythe NWR again yesterday and spent at least two hours looking at ducks. Maybe it was three, I can't remember. I'm still trying to learn my camera-ok that's my excuse. I just really wanted to see the ducks. But look at them:


He's a Green-winged Teal. Check out the beak on the Northern Shoveler below:



And then this Hooded Merganser having wind/hair problems.


Seriously?? What's not to love?

Arden Bendler Browning

I'm suffering few the last few months of an abusive work situation. Arden Bendler Browning's work is just the thing to reinfuse my day with energy and beauty. Her latest works on paper are spectacular. Check out her website which I've linked to the image.

Olivia and I couldn't resist another trip out to Middle Creek. Well, to be honest, Olivia was ready to resist but she can't drive. We went out after school and stayed for the sunset. This time the birds were much closer to us thanks to the frozen parts of the lake. I took quite a few pictures so if you want to see more let me know.



All lined up in a row are black ducks, a grey(?) heron (I think it was too small for a great blue), northern shovelers, canada geese and swans in the background. There was also a belted kingfisher flying around but he's not in this image as far as I know.