January 30-31, 2021 - Waterfowl Galore

As an alternative to Instagram and text messages filled with bird photos, I decided it would be fun to start a blog where I could include the photos I was able to take with some fun facts about the birds and the experiences finding them. I could then provide a link of these experiences to family and friends. I am certainly known for having a few failed blog attempts, and this may certainly become one of them. Nonetheless, for the time being this seemed like a fun endeavor, so here is my attempt at a first post.

Blog names are always difficult, and I debated for a long time what I should title this blog. Fortunate for me, the inspiration came in the form of a Redhead duck I saw on Sunday, January 31 at Holland State Park. The Latin name for this duck is aythya americana, so I thought it was a fun play on words to name a blog that describes the adventures of a redhead human trying to find redhead ducks and other birds, hence "Adventures of an Aythya Americana". 

A posse of male Redhead ducks 1/31/21

Birding adventures on January 30 and 31 included visiting Holland State Park on two cold winter days. Saturday's visit was prior to attending Corrin and Sam's wedding. What surprised me was the number of birders who also had the idea of visiting Holland State Park on a cold Saturday morning. I joked with a few of them that birding is one of those few hobbies that gets you out year-round, even in frigid conditions that most people tend to avoid being out in. The reason birders brave these conditions is that birders do not want to miss enjoying the beautiful ducks that are in our area now but will soon be leaving us as spring inches closer. 

Male Common Goldeneye 1/30/21

On Saturday I was fortunate to be able to talk a long time to two birders about their findings that day and about birding optics and gear. I have learned thus far that birders are very kind people and always willing to help a new birder (although a few oddballs come across your path,  and perhaps I am one of them). An example of their kindness was shown when one of the birders allowed me to view through his spotting scope to see some beautiful White-Winged Scoters hanging out beyond the pier in the lake, a bird I could not see very well with my Vortex 8x zoom binoculars. Saturday's birding adventure included seeing a large number of Red-Breasted Mergansers, Common Goldeneyes, and Long-Tailed Ducks hanging out in the channel.

   

Male Long-Tailed Duck (2 photos above) and a female. 1/30/31 & 1/31/21

On Sunday, I decided to make another visit to the lakeshore. Sunday's blustery winds and post-winter weather advisory conditions were a significant change from Saturday’s partly cloudy and pleasant winter conditions. There were far fewer brave souls visiting the state park in these conditions. Less time was spent admiring the long-tailed ducks and common goldeneye off of the pier but I was at least thankful to see the resident and rare Purple Sandpiper do a flyby right near me. This bird in particular is a rarity in Michigan since these arctic sandpipers typically fly to the Atlantic Ocean instead of the Great Lakes to overwinter. They are a thrill to examine and allow for some nice photo opportunities when they decide to grace you with their presence (more on that in a later post). 

Icy Holland State Park North Pier, with a large flock of Common Goldeneyes south of the north pier 1/31/21

After awhile on the pier, I headed inland a short distance to Black Lake Boardwalk Park West, a park on Lake Macatawa (east of the State Park but west of the General Store) typically frequented by fishermen. The boardwalk though did not have any fishermen on this cold wintry day, but it had a plethora of various duck species hanging out in Lake Macatawa. I was surprised to see the sheer number of Common Goldeneye in the water. Further scanning helped me detect four Redhead ducks, along with several Greater Scaup (which are not an easy identification since they look very similar to the Lesser Scaup; fortunately this post on the Spruce and my Crossley identification guide helped me become comfortable with my identification). I enjoyed watching these ducks dive for food and examine me with caution from afar. 

Greater Scaup versus Lesser Scaup giveaways include size (Greater is larger; similar in size to nearby redheads), highest point of head of Greater is near the forehead versus the middle of the head for the Lesser, less barring on the white flanks of the Greater, and what helped me the most was a more prominent black tip (like lipstick) on the Greater while the Lesser has a thinner tip. 1/31/21

Another thrill that occurred was being able to take some close-up photos of a Red-Breasted Merganser. Mergansers typically are not comfortable with my presence, but a few of these mergansers were not bothered at all as I took pictures of them preening their feathers and taking a quick dive. What floored me later when I reviewed these photos was that mergansers have tooth-like serrations along the edges of their beaks to help them capture fish (see Bird Note for a better description). To be honest, these beautiful ducks presently give me the heebie jebbies now that their beaks remind me of barracudas and piranhas. 

This Red-Breasted Merganser is a stunning duck to photograph. However, I certainly would not want to be a fish locked between its serrated beak. 1/31/21

American Crows appear to be making their migration back northward. In our backyard on Friday afternoon, Molly was interrupted from her work to the sound of obnoxious "caws" from nearly twenty crows that were hanging out on the trees and ground near our bird feeders. Molly cleverly warned me of the crows in our backyard by informing me that she just witnessed a murder in our backyard. To most people this would be an alarming text, but fortunately I knew that a flock of crows is known as a murder. On Sunday, I saw evidence of Crows returning to our area when a small murder decided it would be fun to mess around with a beautiful Bald Eagle that was flying over the lake. These Crows ended up grounding the Bald Eagle on the ice for the remainder of my time birding at this location.

Bald Eagle resting on the ice after being harassed by a murder of Crows. 1/31/21

Following my adventure at the state park, I headed in the car north to Port Sheldon to the south side of Pigeon Lake, near Sandy Point Beach House restaurant. My hope was to add a new species to my life list, a Canvasback, that was seen yesterday in the area. It was certainly possible a Canvasback was in the large flock of what I estimate to be nearly 500 birds of various species (Redheads, Buffleheads, Common Goldeneye, Greater and possibly Lesser scaup etc.), but my 8x zoom binoculars would not give me a close enough look. A spotting scope will be needed the next time a visit occurs. Fortunately I was able to see another Bald Eagle fly overhead to end this frigid but beautiful day birding.