Duck Days

Common Merganser

Hooded Merganser

American Wigeon etc

Gadwall

Lesser (or greater but I think lesser) Scaup

Mallard and Lesser Scaup

I wasn't going to venture out into the cold today but a traffic jam on I-95 changed my mind.  It was windy and very cold but the ducks were loving it.  Heinz served up the Mergansers, Common and Hooded, along with some Canada Geese and Mallards.  FDR had the Wigeon and Gadwall (not to mention Shovelers, Coots, and Mergansers.)  I initially thought the Wigeon was a very nice looking Gadwall so I think that makes it my first Wigeon.  The Philadelphia Navy Yard had Scaup, Lesser I believe, along with the Mallards.  I also saw Bufflehead at both FDR and the Navy Yard but couldn't get close enough for a decent shot.

Crum Creek

A little creek near my house runs into a small dam on one end and a reservoir on the other.  I've taken to driving along Crum Creek road to see who is hanging out in the water.  This morning there were a number of Hooded Mergansers mixing with the geese.  You can see a Hooded facing off against a Canada in the top photo.  I hung around long enough to see the Common Mergansers make their appearance.

Conowingo Dam

On my way back from DC on Saturday I stopped by Conowingo Dam to make up for the trip I missed on Friday.  I got there about 40 minutes before sunset so I didn't have a lot of time.  The flock of Common Mergansers flew overhead immediately after I finished adjusting my camera settings.  Nice timing.  None of the eagle people blinked.  There were a few eagles flying about but nothing I could really get.  The warning alarm sounded, you can see the red lights in the second photo, and they opened up a few turbines.  I think the gulls understood the alarm because they came running from everywhere to feast.