Sunday, March 16, 2008

Half-lifer! - Harlequin Duck male

Someone told me this week that Sunday was supposed to go below 0 degrees but fortunately, the afternoon ended up being really nice (except for a chilly wind). Therefore, I decided to try again for the male Harlequin and after about 10 minutes of being at Humber Bay East, I found it along with the 2 females. I had seen a single female a while back on a TOC trip but I missed the male then. Thankfully it stuck around. There were quite a few people taking photos and watching the trio. They were right where the latest poster on Ontbirds said they had them Saturday. I was able to see the male within about 30 feet of the shoreline, diving and sometimes being chased by the other waterfowl present (Long-tailed Ducks and Greater Scaups).

What a beautiful bird. My best bird of 2008 so far. There will be more good birds though. The year has just started and May is just around the corner. I'm trying for a week to two weeks off during spring migration and I'll be making the most of it. I really can't wait. I also want to be around the area so I'm not out of the loop on news of the cull as I'm sure it will be a hot topic of debate at Pelee this spring.

1 comment:

Backcountry Balkwills said...

Wish I was there with you Jeremy! I can not wait until you come home this friday :-)