Gadwalling about

I went over to visit MIL first thing this morning and found her in very good spirits.  We had a nice visit, a little walk around the facility (indoors) and then I left to drive about 40 minutes north, hoping to find some migratory ducks.

As luck would have it, at my first stop, I saw two pairs of Gadwall ducks, a species that is usually only found here during migration.  Unlike many species of duck where the males sport fancy breeding wardrobes, the male Gadwall is a rather understated pale gray.  It isn't until you look a little closer that you can see his lovely feathers and his stylish peach-toned back.  In flight, you can see his darker gray chest and white belly and pale underwing.  Not a great photo as the bird was far away and the image had to be heavily cropped.  Other ducks today were wood ducks (30+), ring-necked ducks, black ducks, hooded and common mergansers.  Made braving the very cold temps worth it - plus I was able to take a lot of shots from inside my car, always a bonus.

Also saw my first two great blue herons of the year.  Although they do overwinter this far north, they travel long distances to find patches of open water where they can fish.  I found both of them in a marshy area and both seemed to be doing quite well in their fishing endeavors.

A lot of you have commented on the variety of birds and wildlife in my garden/yard, so I thought I'd try to give you and idea as to what our property looks like.  I did a panorama with my iphone - it's not great, but gives you a feel for the open space vs wooded area.  Our land goes pretty far back into the woods which is one of the reasons we get such a nice assortment of birds ... and also why bears are frequent visitors.  As you will also see, we are still under a blanket of snow, which is starting to wear thin.

Be well, people.  And thank you, as always, for stopping by.

xo
Debbi