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It’s a Gadwall squadron. Ducks have a species-specific color patterned speculum on their secondary wing feathers. Gadwalls have a prominent white patch with black and chestnut bordering it.

A Great Egret snacking on a small fish. The bright green lores are indicative of a breeding adult.

Another summer resident has arrived in my area. Blue-gray Gnatcatchers are small, very active birds. The are in almost constant motion as they flit through trees and bushes to look for insects and spiders.

Migration has been slow but Tree Swallows are back.

There is something prehistoric about Great Blue Herons in flight.

Ring-necked Duck (left) and Wood Duck swim close together.

Red-winged Blackbirds are a very common bird and they are here in abundance to claim territory and mates. The males stake out a nest site and warn off others by flashing their bright epaulets. Intruders are chased if warnings don’t work. Females, who look like a different species, are spending their time building nests andContinue reading “Snapshots: Red-winged Blackbird”

An American Woodcock mother set up her nest close to a path on the Parker River NWR. It was set in a tangled mass of branches which helped keep her safe and it made for tough photographic conditions. But the many birdwatchers and photographers who stopped to observe her took care to avoid disturbing herContinue reading “Woodcock Family”

I do not know why these ducks are named after a nearly invisible thin ring around their neck instead of the prominent ring on their bill. A little (very little) ornithologist humor?

Geese can be pretty aggressive with each other and with other animals, even humans. Here a Canada Goose chases another goose that dared to land too close to it’s “space”.