When it comes to identifying scaup, a common duck seen in winter in southeast Michigan, I’m zero for two in the past two months.
I’ve photographed and identified the duck as a Greater Scaup, only to be gently reminded the bird I found was a Lesser Scaup.
They can be challenging to identify. Continue reading Photo of the Week: Lesser Scaup on a Wintry, Snowy Day
On one of the last warm days of November in southeast Michigan, the Greater Yellowlegs feeding in the shallow waters of Washago Pond at Willow Metropark was a pleasant surprise for me this weekend.
And when I reported my sighting of the bird on eBird, it was flagged as a rare find for this time of the year.
I visited the pond because another birder reported finding a Cackling Goose, which I found as well.
Along with about 300 Canada Geese, almost two dozen Mallards, a couple Hooded Mergansers, and another surprise this late in the season: Yellow-rumped Warblers.
But I wasn’t expecting to find any shorebirds. Continue reading Photo of the Week: Greater Yellowlegs in Late Autumn
The black and white shorebird with long legs, short neck, and round head calmly grazed in the grass next to the parking lot, oblivious to the delighted birders who looked on from a distance through their binoculars and spotting scope. A Black-bellied Plover isn’t a rare occurrence at Howard Marsh Metropark on the southwestern shore… Continue reading Photo of the Week: Black-bellied Plover at Howard Marsh