I enjoy bird watching. I am not terribly good at it. (I admit to misidentifying birds and driving other more serious birders stark raving mad.) But there is something satisfying about watching wild life, learning about their habits and anticipating their next move. Birds are everywhere and a whole lot more accessible as wild life here in North America.
Here is a great link to a proper (or pukka) birder’s website. From Rich Steven’s we found out about the lake at Belmar which has a super collection of ducks. Last weekend Kevin and I trooped down there for me to walk, and Kevin to get down and dirty with the ducks.
The lake is a truly suburban lake. Surrounded by roads, a parking lot and residential homes. I did not give much hope to find anything else but mallards (they are everywhere) and Canadian geese (which have turned into pests since they refuse to fly back to Canada in the Summer.) Only in Nebraska of all places are Canadian Geese considered rare. But then I may have been reading an old sign post.
The paths around the lake are paved and the park was filled with walkers, runners and small children. The lake is not very large, which helps in getting access to the ducks. A number of attractive covered bridges, and viewing points have been built over the water. This gives one cover, and makes birds less nervous.
There were a stack of ducks. Mallards, Shovellers, Hooded Mergansers, a Redhead duck, Canadian Geese, Gadwells, and a delightful wood duck.
DRUMROLL!!!! I give you MR Wood Duck!
I have some great pictures of this little guy. He really seemed glad to see us, and let us photograph him. I think he was in such fine color he wanted to pose for us.
Look how he poses….
Then he came very close…
Look how brightly colored he is. He reminds me a lot of the Mandarin Duck. My brother had one in an aviary when we were growing up.
I also tried to take a picture of a gull flying. Here is my atmospheric shot of a flying gull. Note: not sharp at all!
My very own "Jonathon Livingston Seagull" (although I think this Jonathon is a land gull!)
The real Jonathon can be found here.
No park visit can be complete without a little furry hyperactive rodent…
