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Imagine it’s 22 degrees Farenheit at 9:00am on a winter weekend morning in Michigan.
If you’re like most people, you’re at home, warm, enjoying a late breakfast.
Or maybe you’re sleeping in.
Me?
I’m bundled up in my down winter coat, boots, hat, and mittens on the shores of Lake Erie near the Ohio border. Continue reading Photo of the Week: Great Backyard Bird Count at Pointe Mouillee
While the coloring of the Great Horned Owl makes it hard to distinguish it from tree trunks and bare branches in the stark winter woods of Michigan, the two feathered ear tufts stand out.
What an impressive bird to see!
And not a common bird for me.
According to my records, the last time I saw a Great Horned Owl was two years ago this month.
Due to the hot water discharge from the Otto E. Eckert Station power plant, Moores Park along the Grand River in Lansing, Michigan is a favorite birdwatching place as waterfowl gather in the warm waters in the deep cold of winter.
And that’s where I was this weekend, searching for waterfowl. I wasn’t disappointed, it was a great place for birdwatching!
As I was leaving the park, I saw a flock of ducks waddling up the snow bank from the river shoreline.
I paused for a moment to watch them, impressed with their ability to walk in the deep six to eight-inch snow without a problem.
Snow that had me stumbling as I hiked in Moores Park, part of the Lansing River Trail.
Thinking the contrast of their bright colors against the snow would make a nice winter photo, I quickly took some shots of the birds.
I didn’t realize I caught the Mallard Duck and the American Black Duck in a side-by-side comparison until I came home and started reviewing my photos.
The American Black Duck is sometimes misidentified as a female Mallard; they travel and hybridize together. But I managed to catch a photo where I can easily compare the two birds’ features.
Pure chance I caught the shot of the two birds together.
Three minutes later, the birds flew back to the warm waters of the river.