Jeremy's Birds (and More)

Great Blue Heron So while the pie-billed grebe probably wasn't worth the separation from the family (see earlier post), this was a rather impresive pic of a great blue heron perched in a cottonwood next to the river. 

Pied-Billed Grebe I'm trying to blog all the birds I take pics of this year (2007). So here's my first. Looks like a strange duck, but isn't. Its a grebe. Saw this on the South Platte while taking a walk with the family. Actually, I had taken what I thought was a short jaunt on another trail that ran nearer the river, expecting it to return to the main train where Colleen and the kids were. I was mistaken however and the trails didn't reunite for at least 3/4 of a mile. By the time I got back on the main trail and reunited with the family, it was time to return home. So much for the family outing! 

And now for something completely different! American White Pelican. Having nearly exhausted my present supply of "blackbird" pics, I decided to go to the other side of the spectrum. I took these shots yesterday. I had seen some pelicans in a pond near Home Depot and went back to get some shots. As I approached the pelican flew to the other side of the lake. I meandered through residential streets trying to find a place where I could get a shot or two. Along the way I picked up several shots of other birds (including the yellow-headed blackbird posted yesterday). Finally I found a small trail down the center of an isthmus between Bowles reservoir and Marston Lake. Soon I found out that the isthmus was actually a small bird refuge. Birds were everywhere, (you'll see several over the coming days)! BUT they had the trail gated shut so as not to disturb nesting pelicans and herons. Well as I was cursing my luck to be so close yet so far away. This pelican flew across the lake...

Double Crested Cormorant. I first saw one of these in Boston, but managed to get a shot of a couple here in Denver. Apparently they were migrating through so I got a little lucky. I almost got a shot of one that had just caught a fish and was preparing to eat it, but unfortunately my camera wasn't in focus and I missed the moment. Regardless, here are two great shots. Its sunning itself in the second shot! looks pretty cool to me! 

Lesser Scaup... much like the Greater Scaup (which is why I misidentified it last time). The unique shape of the head (the sharper angle downward on the backside of the head) is what really sets the Lesser Scaup from the greater). Also the body is shorter and more compact as well. The female is shown here as well. Note the blue colored bill and the little black tip on the end. (I like the blue bill rather unique I think).

Green-Winged Teal. This is the last of the "pretty ducks" I have to post until I go birding again. Work's kept me busy and last weekend we went house hunting rather than bird hunting. Anyway, quite a pretty duck thing. I like the "action" show as well, the female teal is there as well. 

Mallard. Not that everyone hasn't seen this type before, but I like the photo. The sun makes the head look more purple than green which is a tad uncommon. 

American Wigeon. You can't tell from here, but these ducks have a very particular white patch on the front of their wing which is really obvious when they fly. It was because of the white wing patch that I was able to first identify this duck (the first duck other than a mallard) that up at the pond on Blue Mt. 

Ring Necked Duck. Here's a shot I took last Sat while at the Littleton Historical Farm. I'm still trying to figure out why its called the ring necked duck. The only ring I see is around the bill! 

Common Goldeneye Ducks. Quite a diverse looking pair! These pics were taken in two different places. I found lots of males in Centenial Park near our house but no females, and lots of females but no males in Common Park in Denver. I imagine thats normally an anomaly since I see lots of them around! 

Gadwall. Male on top, female below. Somewhat plain looking bird, but I love the "gold highlights" on the male. Normally the male is quite a bit more dull looking, but they are in breeding season right now so he has more color than usual. Normally they look more like just a grey duck with a brownish head. 

Common Merganser. Colleen calls the female (on the left)the "desperate housewife" of birds on account of its "hair." (I get the feeling she feels the way that birds "hair" looks every now and then!) The male has a very dark green head, almost black. Its one of the few birds I've seen where the female is more interesting to look at than the male. 

Bufflehead Ducks. Both the male and female are here (though the female is a bit out of focus). I liked this photo best of the ones I took becuase you can see both the green and purple color on the male. 

Northern Shovelers. I love the huge bill! You can't tell from these pics, but the males have a green head, just a bit darker then a Mallard. I took the second pic last week during the -10 week. Now that the temp has been hovering in the upper 60's for the last couple of days I doubt much ice is left.