Duck, Duck....

Spring is not succeeding at springing this year, at least not so far.  The usual signs are there already.  The peepers are peeping, the daffodils are up and a couple are blooming, the pussy willows are showing their fuzzy selves.  Grackles and red-winged blackbirds are around, but I still hear crossbills now and then, too.  These visitors are common in northern boreal forests, but should not be here but for the lack of food in their territory (they eat cones on evergreens, mainly and there was poor production last year).  Hearing them with the spring migrants is very strange.  The ospreys are trickling in, I heard and saw red-shoulder hawks today and was very surprised to see a few tree swallows cruising low over a pond.  So, things are moving despite the nasty, wind-blown cold air.  Good.  I like winter, but I love a nice warm spring and hot summer.

Within the last month I was able to get out to see two duck species that are rare to the Cape, both of which I had seen before, but I always like to get out to see stuff, locally at least.  First was a female tufted duck. Tufted ducks are a Eurasian species that occasionally find their way to the states, and this one made it to Falmouth Harbor and other local salt or brackish ponds.  When I saw her, she was in Falmouth Harbor and was close to shore.  No need for a spotting scope.  I like that.

More recently, I was able to get to the Cape Cod Canal to see and photograph a really nice king eider.  King eiders are from far northern North America and also occasionally find their way to the Cape.  This is not the first one I have seen in the canal, but it certainly provided the best views.  There were hundreds of common eiders in the canal as well in one large raft.  When I arrived I found several birders packing up their scopes and as they left pointed me in the direction of the bird.  He was easy to find and very accommodating.

 Male king eider (foreground), with male common eider for comparison.

King eider.  I love the little pointy dorsal feathers.