Monday Nov 25 2013. Blackie Spit, Crescent Beach Surrey, B.C. British Columbia.
I have to admit that I have not had the opportunity to study the difference between American and Eurasian Widgeon until today. I had seen them through bins but now I had a mixed flock in right in front of me and within camera range. The flock not only had the two aforementioned species but also a number of hybrids.
I am posting these pictures to see if anyone is actually reading this blog as there is no better way to monitor blog readership than to misidentify a species. Your feedback is appreciated if I have mislabeled any of these beautiful dabbling ducks.
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| Male American Wigeon (Anas americana) |
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American and Eurasian hybrid.
Note: I have been told this actually an Eurasian not hybrid. I'm learning too, thanks to Mike Tabak for the identification. |
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| Eurasian wigeon (Anas penelope) |
After photographing the ducks on the spit I took a walk into the wooded area east of the car park. There I saw the silhouette of a bird of prey. It turned out to be a Cooper's hawk.
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| Cooper's Hawk (Accipter cooperii) |
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| The Cooper's swoops down into the undergrowth but was unsuccessful. |
It suddenly flew down from a tree, crashing into the undergrowth, the bird re-appeared sans prey and continued hunting.
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| The bird was originally perched in a tree and then went diving and hunting in dense bushes. |
I managed to grab a few perched shots and then it flew off, even with a high shutter speed the wings are blurred. The most vital part of flight shots is using at least 1/1000 or faster shutter speed to capture a sharp eye, slower speeds can create a blur which spoils the final image.
The weather was cool but sunny so I decided to take a wander to the other end of the conservation area close to the railway line. There are a number of Pacific crab apple and hawthorn trees which are still laden with berries. There I found Downy Woodpeckers, Golden-crowned Sparrows, Northern Flicker, Raven, North-western Crows, Great blue Heron, Bald Eagle, Double crested Cormorants and Purple Finches.
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| Purple Finch (Carpo purpureus) |
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A male Purple Finch gorges on Pacific crab apples at Blackie Spit.
Good birding to you all
John Gordon |
