Inflatable Woodpecker

 

 

This downy was cleaning himself while hanging on to the side of the tree.

Wondering what to have for breakfast?

 

This kingfisher recommends fresh fish.

Chris always likes a bird photo that is detailed enough to see the eye well. Here, you can see its breakfast's eye too.

Below he shows the proper technique for eating a fish: Toss it in the air, catch it head first, turn your head, swallow, let the tail slide down, and rest.

Click to enlarge

Hooded Mergansers

 

 

 

Two groups of hooded mergansers swam by this morning. One group had three females and one male and the other three males and a female. We think the geese are envious of the speed and fancy hairdos of the mergansers.

American Coot Visiting Lake Nelson

 

We used to see coots by the hundreds in a lagoon in Playa Del Rey when we lived in Southern California, but hadn't seen a coot in New Jersey until this morning. Mike spotted it first when it was too dark to get a picture. The coot came back and Mike went outside to get a few photos. Chris didn't think it was worth it to go out in the cold for a coot, even if it was to try out the new duck blind.

Northern Pintails

We finally made it to the Meadowlands to see some migratory ducks. It was a pretty good day with a wide variety of ducks. We had never seen the pintails or the shovelers before. Here are the best photos of the northern pintails.

Northern Shovelers

Chris has always wanted to see a Northern Shoveler, or at least since we bought a book on the birds of the east coast last year. Today was our lucky day, there were several Northern Shovelers at the Richard W. DeKorte Park at the Meadowlands. The large bill of the shoveler must have been the inspiration for Daffy Duck.

Buffleheads at the Meadowlands

 

 

While we have observed an occasional bufflehead on Lake Nelson, we had never seen large groups or females before. They were a real treat at the Meadowlands.

Ruddy Ducks at The Meadowlands

 

 

There are several bird blinds set up at the Meadowlands Environmental Center. At one, we saw about 100 ruddy ducks. We were quite amused to see all of them dive under water at once several times.

Green-winged Teal

 

American Black Duck

 

Mallard at Meadowlands Environment Center

Although we enjoy the fancy ducks, we like this mallard photo too.

Cormorant in Flight

Mute Swan at the Meadowlands

 

Egret at the Meadowlands

 

Bufflehead on Lake Nelson

When we got home, we saw two bufflehead on Lake Nelson.