 |  |
Birds can fly (well, most birds), and they migrate (well, many of them do), sometimes over long distances (I know, everybody knows that). Waterbirds that nest in the arctic and in high elevations that freeze up in winter, migrate after breediing to open water. Two such birds are the Harlequin Duck (left, above) and the Long-tailed Duck. They are normally found in winter along the coast and inland around the Great Lakes. But occasionally, maybe because their internal GPS system goes haywire or they find companionship among the flock of another species that travels further south, they pop up in our area of the mid-west. That happened in February of 2007, when a pair of Harlequins showed up in Iowa along the Mississippi River just below a lock-and-dam, the strong flow through the spillway keeping the water free of ice. There, they found an abundance of small fish to feed on. Then, this November, bird watching with our young friends Sean and Chayenne at the Riverlands Conservation Area along the Mississippi River, we spotted an unusual looking duck. Its distinctive white face patch that came to a point behind the eyes, black-and-white plumage, and short beak led me to believe it was a Long-tailed Duck. Fortunately, it was close enough to get some good photos, which could be used to verify its identity. What a nice early Christmas present from Mother Nature!
RSS Feed
