The same day that I saw the Black Scoter in the previous post, I was able to watch a male Hooded Merganser catch a Crawfish (crayfish) and eat it. This was quite an action sequence, as he needed to keep moving it around to avoid getting a claw to the bill. He ended up taking it down, facing away from me, so I never really saw if he swallowed it whole or just bit pieces off. All of this was a little farther out than I would prefer, but I think enough detail comes through in the photos, especially with bad lighting for the day. Photos were taken on Saturday 1/27. Enjoy!
Behind the Milwaukee Art Museum a few weeks ago, there were 1500+ ducks! There was an excellent variety of them as well, with the water still being open. There were 11 duck species including a very cool hybrid, Common Goldeneye x Hooded Merganser. One of the species was a beautiful male Black Scoter in full breeding plumage. I had never seen one like that before, only in basic plumage. When I saw him, he was closer to the north side of Veteran’s Park. He was hanging with a smaller group of ducks diving and feeding. At one point, he was even calling and appeared to be courting a female Greater Scaup. He must have had a long Friday night! The other duck species present were, Mallard, Canvasback, Redhead, Ring-necked Duck, Greater & Lesser Scaup, White-winged Scoter, Common Goldeneye, Hooded Merganser and Red-breasted Merganser. The photos below are from Saturday 1/27. Enjoy!
I stopped by Bender Park last week and saw a few ducks in the boat launch area. I drove down close to the water and shut off my truck. I counted 3 Red-breasted Merganser, 3 Common Goldeneye, 1 Common Merganser all swimming, along with 2 Mallard sleeping on the sand bar. I have stopped here dozens of times before and I know that if you park close to the water, shut off you truck and be quiet, the ducks will come back, close to shore. On this particular day, the Common Merganser swam in, slightly off the newly formed sand bar, and started diving. After the first dive, she popped up with a something and I got my camera on her. I thought it was a fish, and I started snapping photos in a burst, so that I wouldn’t miss anything. After the sequence was done and I looked at some photos, I realized it was actually a frog she caught. I was quite surprised by this. After a few more dives, I saw her pop up with another frog! This time though, a male Red-breasted Merganser started chasing her. After about 100′ feet of scooting through the water, he got really close, and she dropped the frog. He grabbed it and enjoyed her catch. The photos below show these events happening and I tried to capture the entire sequences. However, not all photos are in focus during the event, so I picked the ones that were. The photos below were taken on 1/11 in the late afternoon. Enjoy!
Yesterday afternoon, a beautiful male Mandarin Duck was photographed at South Shore Yacht Club in Bayview. I thought I would head down at sunrise today and see if it was still around. It was! This is an incredibly gorgeous bird! About 5 minutes after I arrived, all of the ducks took off and flew to the other side of the breakwall. Turns out, a Peregrine Falcon came in from the north and I didn’t see it at first, but the birds always see predators right away. Within 20 minutes, the ducks all came back and so did the Mandarin Duck. As soon as they landed, a Bald Eagle came circling in from the north. They got up, flew around but came right back. The eagle landed on the rocks of the breakwall, and never bothered the ducks. For the next couple of hours, it moved about between the water and the shore. A great morning to be out! Photos below are from today. Enjoy!
Yesterday afternoon there was a beautiful male Northern Pintail at the yacht club. He was hanging out with 50 or so Mallards and 4 American Black Ducks, near the boat launch. This was the best view of a male that I ever had. So close and really tame! If someone would walk past or drive by, he swam out a little bit, but always came right back to the shore. I just wish I would’ve had some sunlight for the photos. I sat in my truck and watched the ducks for a little over and hour. Spring migration is definitely underway, with new birds arriving daily. Pictures are from the afternoon. Enjoy!
The waterfowl migration is an exciting time, with most arriving in my area during the month of March. This year proved to be another excellent one. On the 4th, under the Hoan Bridge, there was an excellent variety of ducks, including 2 Surf Scoters and 1 White-winged Scoter. A nice size group of Ruddy Ducks had been there all winter and were still around. Unfortunately, all the gates were still locked from the strong east winds and monster waves, that destroyed a lot of lakeshore things, so I was unable to take pictures of them. Then on the 7th, an excellent variety were seen on the Kinnickkinnic River. Redheads, Canvasbacks, American Black Ducks, and a White-winged Scoter were among the more common ones. The next day, 5 Trumpeter Swans and 8 Greater White-fronted Geese were at the dance studio in Oak Creek. Also present that day were, Northern Shovelers, Gadwall and Redheads, along with a few other common breeds. On the 10th, under the Hoan Bridge I saw several scoters, including 3 black. On the 20th, there was a nice variety behind the dance studio in Oak Creek again. Northern Shoveler, American Wigeon, Green-winged Teal and Hooded Merganser were the highlights, among the common ducks. On the 26th, at Grobschmidt Park, another good day with nice variety. Ring-necked Ducks were plentiful, with 15 right along the eastern edge, close to the road. There was also a Common Loon and 11 Pied-billed Grebes, which were all hanging together in the corner along the cattails. Grobschmidt seems to get at least 1 loon every year. The following day, I had 6 Wood Ducks at Greenfield Park. I was able to get a lot of nice photos to document the month. All of the photos below are from the month of March, in Milwaukee. Enjoy!
