Birding Hyde Park, part 2

This mother and duckling (just one!) were stars as people came and went along the Rond Pond.

OK, it's just a starling, but you have to admit it's beautiful. Check out those spots!

This lone shoveler amongst the nmallards did not get much attention from most people but I was delighted to see her.

This is the goose that fascinated me. Again, most ignored it. This is an Egyptian Goose, part of a feral population established now, mostly in the eastern part of England. Some have a bold patch around the eye; too, this one just had a hint. There are various morphs. The pink bill and legs, yellow eye, neck ring, fox-colored back, bold white stripe and black flight feathers all confimed the ID.

Birding Hyde Park

Fred and I spent a quiet morning at Hyde Park. We walked over to Round Pond as there are usually some good birds there.
Female Tufted Duck, above, and male, below.



Mute Swan, there were tons of these!

Greylag Goose. There were a lot of these. There were also a lot of Canada Geese. There was one that looked like a Cackling Goose (like a Canada but with a very short neck), but I suspect was a Canada x Graylag hybrid instead. My picture was not good.

Whooper Swan in Heinola

Outi took us to visit the Bird Sanctuary, actually a bird rescue facility, in Heinola. At the pond just outside the sanctuary, these two whooper swans floated tranquilly. They apparently are there all the time. There used to be a black swan, too.

A line of black headed gulls, with one common gull amongst them. There was also a herring gull on the fence.

Birding, Heinola, Finland

We're staying at the Hotel Kumpelli, along a river whose name I don't know yet. Here are an adult and juvenile Hooded or Carrion Crow, the juvie exhibiting classic "FEED ME" behavior.

Mergansers aren't listed in my book, at least I haven't found them yet!

White Wagtail.

Well, I know it's just a mallard, but she was posing very prettily and the baby was just behind her in the water, so I had to snap a pic!

Birding Great Marsh

We birded the Great Marsh Trail on Thursday. This is on Mason Neck, but it is part of the federal wildlife refuge, not the State Park. We enjoy walking out to the overlook and enjoying a quite afternoon. There's usually something worth looking at.
Yellowlegs convention. I believe almost all Greater Yellowlegs with one Lesser on the far left, horning in!

Eagles' nest, Great Marsh Trail, one adult and two fledglings. The other adult was also nearby.

One of my birding companions.

To every season, tern, tern, tern

Well, I haven't been birding much lately due to the knee injury I suffered in July (unloading the car), but I'm through surgery and therapy and in San Diego, so let the birding begin! Here's a digiscoped pic (scope, zoomed slightly, and my little Pentax) taken from the condo balcony in the early morning, so it's a bit grainy: a Caspian and some Forster's Terns on the seawall across the channel from us. The black band is the side of the seawall.


So far, in SD, I haven't really been birding, but we've still managed to see:
Common Loon
Heerman's Gull
Ringbilled Gull
Western Gull
Marbled Godwit
American Coot
Willet
Probably sharpshinned hawk
various unidentified hummingbirds--probably Anna's
American Crow
Red Masked Parakeet (part of a feral population, not countable on my bird list)
Eared grebe
Brown Pelican
Double-crested cormorant
Brandt's cormorant
Snowy Egret
California Towhee
Bushtit
Black Phoebe