And now for my weekly weekend birding report. Much of Saturday was a wash - it was raining intermittently, so I decided that I would finally try to get back into my Cornell Lab of Ornithology Home study course in Bird Biology. I bought this a few years back with every intention of blowing through it in record time. My intentions were good, but reality intervened. Soon after I bought the course and received the textbook and associated test materials, my girlfriend at the time and I broke up and I needed to find a new place to live. The book was packed up (along with over 50 other boxes of books) and for the next two years remained untouched while I was working multiple jobs and building a new relationship with a lovely woman who recently agreed to be my wife. Last year, after some minor surgery, I was going stir crazy while stuck in the house, and not allowed to go out (although we did chase a Barnacle Goose that wasn't far away - didn't tell my doc about that though) I remembered the course and tore through 5 chapters in two weeks. I've barely found any time to work on it again, and the book has been taking up space on the dining room table even since. Saturday morning I decided to take it up again. I really do enjoy the class - it is incredibly informative and extremely well written. Without a doubt it has increased my birding skills, as well as my appreciation for the birds themselves. I just usually would rather be out birding than home reading about it. (If you haven't seen it, it is a pretty heavy textbook, and not something you can take to bed with you to read before going to sleep, which is when I get a majority of my reading done.)
I did manage to get out briefly between showers on Saturday to Horn Pond in Woburn, MA and finally saw my 'year' Orange-crowned Warbler - something I missed last year and was afraid I'd miss again this year.
Sunday was still overcast and the winds which had picked up overnight seemed to continue. In New England, after a very windy night, one typically heads to the coast to see if anything has been blown in from the ocean, or for migrants that might be hugging (or making their way back to) the shore, depending upon which way the winds were a-blowin'. We weren't in the mood to be sand-blasted, and had heard that the annual Canvasbacks had started to show up at Fresh Pond Reservoir in Cambridge. (Right down the street from the famous hot-spot, Mt Auburn Cemetery)
I've been trying to get photos of these handsome ducks for a few years, but it seems like every time I go, they are in very choppy water and I'm trying to shoot through a lot of vegetation.
The first birds we spotted were on a very small pond at the edge of a golf course that is along on side of the reservoir - a group of over 20 Hooded Mergansers with many males displaying their impressive hoods.
Other ducks that are regular here are Ring-necked Ducks. Don't try looking for the ring on the neck of these good-looking ducks. These birds were named by ornithologists that had a bird in the hand. On a live bird, it's pretty much impossible to see. A better name would probably have been "Ring-billed Duck" but there's little to do about it now.
After a bit more of a walk around the reservoir, I finally found a nice flotilla of Canvasbacks. Honestly, these handsome ducks are one of my favorites, with their cinnamon colored head, bright red eye, and textured white body feathers. Every year I look forward to seeing them. And this year I finally got a few good pics too!
