Sunday, February 9, 2014

Wild Duck Hunt

  I am linking up with Mosaic Monday and Our World Tuesday 

Early Saturday morning hubby and I headed to Loch Raven Reservoir on our wild goose duck hunt. There were many reports of the Eurasian Wigeon being seen near the second dam at the reservoir. It has become my birding luck that the day I go the bird has left.  Last weekend, I did  a drive by hoping that a Pink-footed Goose was still in the area. No luck there either, how is your birding luck? I hope it is better than my luck. At least we did not see the snow they forecasted, one time I was glad they were wrong .



This is the lower dam at the reservoir..one of three reservoirs that supplies drinking water for Baltimore City.




Not the best shot but above is an American Wigeon, second from the left.  The American Wigeon has a green eye patch and a cream crown. The Eurasian Wigeon has the red head with the gray back dark eyes. It was hard looking at all the Redheads for one Eurasian Wigeon, they look alike.




Above is the larger dam with more Redheads, Mergansers and the American Wigeon.


Here is a larger image showing the assortment of ducks we saw at the reservoir.




The Redhead ducks seem to be the largest group seen in these photos.


This shot is one of the clearest I could get of the distant Redhead ducks.  Since, I work during the week I do not have the option to run and see a bird on the day it is first sighted. And I do not want to get started on this horrible weather. I can not complain on the amount of ducks we have been seeing like the Redheads, Ring-necked, Common Mergansers and Hooded Mergansers are plentiful. The sky was mostly cloudy which does not help my photos, but it was still cool seeing all the ducks.


Thanks for visiting my blog. I always appreciate your comments.
Join in on the fun and for more wonderful photos please visit  Mosaic Monday and more
 from  Our World Tuesday

 Thanks to our host: Mary our host of Mosaic Monday and to the hosting group of Our World Tuesday: Arija, Gattina, Lady Fi, Sylvia, Sandy and Jennifer.  I wish everyone a happy week ahead!

52 comments:

TexWisGirl said...

you're killing me with the redheads!!! my favorite wooden decoy i have is a redhead and i've never seen one in real life.

Montanagirl said...

So many ducks! I enjoy seeing your photos/collages. We haven't been anywhere in months for any photo ops. Maybe we'll get over to Bowdoin NWR soon. I hope so.

WordsPoeticallyWorth said...

An interesting post that I enjoyed reading. Like the ducks.

Thank you. Love love, Andrew. Bye.

carol l mckenna said...

Fantastic colors ~ lovely photography of nature's gems ~ Happy Week to you ~ carol and artmusedog

We are back to Blogger ~ hopefully off G+ ~ spread the word ~so I will get my commenters back ~ ^_^

ps. will see what happens ~

Stephanie said...

Great series!

Lynne said...

So enjoy your posts. You bring new and variety to me. Do tell, why are there so many ducks and varieties of them congregated in this one area?

Crafty Green Poet said...

lovely ducks, better luck next time with the Eurasian wigeon, they're beautiful, we get lots of them here in the winter

DIMI said...

Hello Eileen!!!Wow!!So many beautiful ducks!!Lovely images!Great shots and captures!What a lovely place!!I really enjoyed your post!Have a happy week!!Hugs!
Dimi...

Bob Bushell said...

Beautiful Redheads, excellent.

Fjällripan said...

So great to see so many at the same time :)) Here we dont have so many birds accept for the small ones at the feeder :)

Yes I love snow and winter, but this year we dont have so much snow as usual and not so cold either....but it is still hope :))

jp@A Green Ridge said...

Beautiful site to see for sure...:)JP

Author R. Mac Wheeler said...


Nice shots, especially considering the distance.

Gray skies can help...eliminates all those pesky shadows, sometimes :)

George said...

I hope you do get to see that elusive duck. I would hate for you to have to go on too many more wild goose chasing in attempting to catch the duck.

Poppy said...

Eileen,

I love your photos of all the adorable ducks! Wow! What a shot of the American Wigeon; that green eye patch is quite dramatic, even for a duck! The Redheads are also quite lovely, as are they all!

Have a lovely week and a very happy Valentine's Day!

Poppy

Gardening in a Sandbox said...

It is nice to see the ducks in the open water. Not so much up here as everything is well frozen. Valerie

Merlesworld said...

I never seen these pink ducks with red heads.
Merle..........

Jen said...

I'd be thinking he was there somewhere, hiding amongst all the other ducks. Maybe he was just camera shy when you visited.

Tina Fariss Barbour said...

So many ducks and such a variety! I admire your knowledge about them and your enthusiasm for birding. :-)

Anonymous said...

There are many variety of ducks. They look so beautiful in a group.

Stewart M said...

Great flocks of ducks - its looks a bit like a winter scene on some of the lakes I helped look after when I was a warden.

Cheers - Stewart M - Melbourne

Irma said...

Beautiful surroundings there.
So many ducks there, beautiful collages Eileen.

Seraphinas Phantasie said...

Wonderful photos of all these ducks. Amazing !
Have a nice new week, Eileen. Best regards, Synnöve

Pat @ Mille Fiori Favoriti said...

I like these colorful red heads, Eileen! I also love all your photos on facebook --you really do live in a beautiful place!

vivi ka said...

Amazing! So many ducks!They have very beautiful colors!
Have a nice week!

Ramakrishnan said...

That's a big flock of ducks !

Forest Dream Weaver said...

What a fascinating collection,your posts are always so interesting and informative. Although I have quite a good knowledge of wildlife,I'm usually more interested in their surroundings. It's really great to see birds from around the world.

Happy Monday!
Ruby

Erco Travels said...

Lot of pretty ducks!! beautiful photos..

•°°• IcyBC •°°• said...

Wow..the duck photos are just fantastic to see!

I have no bird visiting these past couple of weeks :(

LindyLouMac said...

I always enjoy viewing your bird photos.

Anonymous said...

Hi Eileen, What an outstanding grouping of photographs of the flocks of ducks. I sure love the Redheads and those Widgeons are spectacular. I have never seen one of the Eurasian Widgeons. Have a pleasant day and another good one tomorrow!

Rohrerbot said...

Congrats Eileen! That is not easy to find with the group you had there in the water. My luck has been pretty good so far this year, But the life bird part is getting tricky! When the lifer is out in the middle of water, it really challenges!

Roses, Lace and Brocante said...

Hello Eileen
I can't believe the vast species of bird life in America.
You are spoilt for choice it seems but not always where you want them!
Wonderful ducks today - the red headed wigeon is very striking.

Our Neck of the Woods said...

Wow, so many ducks! It's neat to see them all together like that.

Debbie said...

All I kept thinking is "I Love Lucy"!! Wonderful captures, I always enjoy your images!!

Kim said...

Those Redheads are striking looking ducks! Good on you for getting out and about in the cold and sharing such evocative images. And good luck with your next hunt for something unusual. Have a great week :)

Life Images by Jill said...

ducks on the pond! Glad you got some shots Eileen - but isn't it annoying when work gets in the way of photography or birding!
Have a great week.

Gail Dixon said...

Your luck sounds about like mine. I went yesterday to look for nesting egrets and herons which were nowhere to be found. BUT, I did see the common yellowthroat which is a new lifer for me. Love the shots of your redheads and other waterfowl.

Carver said...

That looks like a great place for watching the water birds. I love the shots you captured.

Photo Cache said...

I don't think I've seen those read heads in our local ponds.

islandwonder said...

What beautiful photos! Those ducks are cute.

Al said...

That looks like a great day. Although out here, when people talk about bird hunting they're talking about something else than photographing the birds!

Saun said...

I've never seen a redhead nice series . Thanks for sharing have a great week! Stay warm

Sylvia K said...

Wonderful captures as always, Eileen!! Your blogs always take us on such wonderful tours!! Thank you!! Hope you have a great week!!

mick said...

So many ducks! and what a great place to look at them! Sorry you didn't see the one you wanted.

Anonymous said...

What pretty red heads! Lovely shots.

orchid0324 said...

Dearest Eileen;
Oh, wonderful place to see these ducks (not goose) :-)
Loved all your beautiful pics and enlarged them, my friend.

Lots of Love and Hugs from Japan, xoxo Miyako*

Rajesh said...

Beautiful birds, so many of them in one place.

Our photos said...

I like the duck photos.

Sallie (FullTime-Life) said...

I'd love to see that many ducks...the redheads are wonderful.

Pallavi said...

I love the ducks! :)

Helma said...

A beautiful duck Eileen blog with lots of mergansers and the crown ducks, I see you swim :-) Where I live are also a lot of wigeon.
Very nice evening.

eric said...

Awesome ! i really found very informative article here and bookmarked this blog. Thank you

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