I'm actually getting published!
Equally exciting is another recent discovery. Apparently, Lakeside Daisies (Tetraneuris herbacea), one of the rarest plants in Eastern North America, grow in Tazewell County. There will be a May expedition to that prairie, Manito Prairie, and I may also cover Sand Ridge State Forest on that expedition, where more rare plants grow and several rare reptiles are found. Stay tuned.
Anyway, back to our regularly scheduled nonsense. I've taken about 1700 pictures in the last week, almost entirely of birds. Almost every time, I see a new duck species. Today, that record was blown apart. I saw six duck species I had never seen before in the wild. SIX! That was coming off a total of fourteen ducks (well, one's actually just an old coot) in one park alone.
ONE PARK! THIRTEEN DUCKS! HALLELUJAH! (Sorry. I'm rather excitable.)
Since there is a north and a south side to this park, Center Park, as well as a brief stop at Marina Point, I have decided to split this discussion in two. Two Central Illinois- rare ducks were present, and so I will center my discussion of this insane day on those two ducks, the Greater Scaup (Aythya marila) and White-Winged Scoter (Melanitta deglandi).
By the way, ducks have very strange names. Bufflehead, Scaup, Gadwall, etc. are all names that clearly came from complicated etymologies. Even Mallard is a strange name, if you think about it.
Instead of thinking about it, take a look at the picture below:
In the back is a flock of Lesser Scaups (Aythya affinis), the most common diving duck in the Mississippi Flyway. In the foreground is a Ruddy Duck (Oxyura jamaicensis), one of several hundred seen that day. It is an irony that I had no intentions of seeing these ducks on this particular day. I wanted a picture of migrating geese in a V-formation, and I had failed to get it on the previous several days. I had a strong internal debate on that particular day on whether I should go birding or stay home. I felt an urge to go birding to try to get that picture, so I went. Here it is, a picture of Snow Geese (Chen caerulenscens) that will be appearing in the Lincoln Land Lamp newspaper:
To begin at the beginning, however. I should say that I went to Marina Point first. There, I spotted something a little different among the gulls:
That taller fellow is a Herring Gull (Larus smithsonianus) amongst Ring-billed Gulls (Larus delawarensis). Both gulls are common on Lake Springfield, but it's rare to see them side by side so perfectly. Few ducks were present, though some Ruddy Ducks were out and about, in range of a camera:
This is with 300 feet of zoom. To the casual observer, these are just specks on the surface of the water.
I decided to pull off at the Marina near Center Park and just past Lindsay Bridge. After walking around for a minute, I spotted a Common Goldeneye (Bucephala clangula) among the Ruddy Ducks. None of these are particularly rare birds. Something was yelling at me from a nearby half-dead oak tree. To my surprise, it was this:
Don't recognize it? It is one of the rarer woodpeckers in Illinois, the Red-Headed Woodpecker (Melanerpes erythrocephalus). This woodpecker is a savanna bird. I don't mean that it is from the Serengeti. Illinois, back in the days before white settlement, was regularly burned by the Native Americans. This promoted edge habitats and savanna, which is a more productive ecotype then either dense old-growth woodland or a single expanse of grassland. In Illinois, large, fire resistant oak trees survived fires, making large, open oak savanna. This woodpecker is a native of that habitat. (I always find it funny when people refer to the area in Illinois before white settlement as untouched wilderness. The native tribes left a massive mark on the land. After all, we're called the Prairie State, not the Forest State, despite having enough rainfall to support forests easily. Why do you suppose that is?)
As Center Park contains a good deal of old limbs and oak trees in an open, grassy area, it is one of the best places in Central Illinois for Red-Headed Woodpeckers. These are nonmigratory and fairly noisy, as well as rather brightly colored. I noticed a birder with a scope watching a group of ducks in a nearby corner of the lake. After a bit of discussion, I remembered meeting him at Lincoln Land College bird banding the fall before. This birder, J.M., told me that two rare ducks and a whole flock of pochards could be seen. I already mentioned what those ducks were. Pochard is a word to describe any of the large diving ducks in the genus Aythya. There were many of these:
Five Four species were present in this flock: Canvasbacks (Aythya valisineria), Redheads (Aythya americana), Ring-necked Ducks (Aythya collaris) and Greater and Lesser Scaups (Aythya marila and Aythya affinis, respectively). These ducks are popular with hunters and birdwatchers alike, and I had never seen any of them previously. I only got into birdwatching this year, so that is why. I know these are all common birds (with the exception of the Greater Scaup) in Illinois, so I look forwards to seeing them more often.
These are two distinct species of pochard ducks (Aythya spp.) but which is what is unclear to me.
The duck on the far right is a Canvasback (Aythya valisineria) the largest species of pochard in North America. The dark reddish-brown head and large body size is a dead giveaway. (Actually, it's a cross between a normal Scaup, bad lighting, and wishful thinking.) The duck behind it is likely a Greater Scaup, which I say due to the size and coloration.
Several Mallards landing in formation was a notable distraction nearby. Having taken stock of the waterfowl on this side of the road, I crossed over to the other side of the road. While in a field, I heard honking, and took the picture of the Snow Geese seen several pictures back. It had been a long week of trying to get that picture, and I literally cried out in joy that I'd gotten it.
A nearby dead tree provided this Red-Headed Woodpecker with excellent foraging territory. I was so focused on ducks, I probably wouldn't have noticed this bird until it started giving me an alarm call. Here's why I was so focused on ducks:
What is that duck in the lower left corner? It was among Ruddy Ducks on the south side of the park. I assume it's a female White-Winged Scoter, but for all I know, it's a badly photographed Ruddy Duck. It seems too small in comparison to the scoters I saw on the north side of the park. Have fun debating on what it is. Let's recap so far. I've seen six pochard species (the Redheads and Ring-necked Ducks weren't feeling too photogenic), a few Goldeneyes, many Ruddy Ducks, and some Mallards. That would be nine species, plus a few old coots. The duck in the picture above is #10, an unknown species. The scoters are #11, obviously, For # 12-13, check next post. Prepare yourselves for the Loch Ness Scoter and those two additional ducks in a day or so,
Anyway, back to our regularly scheduled nonsense. I've taken about 1700 pictures in the last week, almost entirely of birds. Almost every time, I see a new duck species. Today, that record was blown apart. I saw six duck species I had never seen before in the wild. SIX! That was coming off a total of fourteen ducks (well, one's actually just an old coot) in one park alone.
ONE PARK! THIRTEEN DUCKS! HALLELUJAH! (Sorry. I'm rather excitable.)
Since there is a north and a south side to this park, Center Park, as well as a brief stop at Marina Point, I have decided to split this discussion in two. Two Central Illinois- rare ducks were present, and so I will center my discussion of this insane day on those two ducks, the Greater Scaup (Aythya marila) and White-Winged Scoter (Melanitta deglandi).
By the way, ducks have very strange names. Bufflehead, Scaup, Gadwall, etc. are all names that clearly came from complicated etymologies. Even Mallard is a strange name, if you think about it.
Instead of thinking about it, take a look at the picture below:
In the back is a flock of Lesser Scaups (Aythya affinis), the most common diving duck in the Mississippi Flyway. In the foreground is a Ruddy Duck (Oxyura jamaicensis), one of several hundred seen that day. It is an irony that I had no intentions of seeing these ducks on this particular day. I wanted a picture of migrating geese in a V-formation, and I had failed to get it on the previous several days. I had a strong internal debate on that particular day on whether I should go birding or stay home. I felt an urge to go birding to try to get that picture, so I went. Here it is, a picture of Snow Geese (Chen caerulenscens) that will be appearing in the Lincoln Land Lamp newspaper:
To begin at the beginning, however. I should say that I went to Marina Point first. There, I spotted something a little different among the gulls:
That taller fellow is a Herring Gull (Larus smithsonianus) amongst Ring-billed Gulls (Larus delawarensis). Both gulls are common on Lake Springfield, but it's rare to see them side by side so perfectly. Few ducks were present, though some Ruddy Ducks were out and about, in range of a camera:
This is with 300 feet of zoom. To the casual observer, these are just specks on the surface of the water.
I decided to pull off at the Marina near Center Park and just past Lindsay Bridge. After walking around for a minute, I spotted a Common Goldeneye (Bucephala clangula) among the Ruddy Ducks. None of these are particularly rare birds. Something was yelling at me from a nearby half-dead oak tree. To my surprise, it was this:
Don't recognize it? It is one of the rarer woodpeckers in Illinois, the Red-Headed Woodpecker (Melanerpes erythrocephalus). This woodpecker is a savanna bird. I don't mean that it is from the Serengeti. Illinois, back in the days before white settlement, was regularly burned by the Native Americans. This promoted edge habitats and savanna, which is a more productive ecotype then either dense old-growth woodland or a single expanse of grassland. In Illinois, large, fire resistant oak trees survived fires, making large, open oak savanna. This woodpecker is a native of that habitat. (I always find it funny when people refer to the area in Illinois before white settlement as untouched wilderness. The native tribes left a massive mark on the land. After all, we're called the Prairie State, not the Forest State, despite having enough rainfall to support forests easily. Why do you suppose that is?)
As Center Park contains a good deal of old limbs and oak trees in an open, grassy area, it is one of the best places in Central Illinois for Red-Headed Woodpeckers. These are nonmigratory and fairly noisy, as well as rather brightly colored. I noticed a birder with a scope watching a group of ducks in a nearby corner of the lake. After a bit of discussion, I remembered meeting him at Lincoln Land College bird banding the fall before. This birder, J.M., told me that two rare ducks and a whole flock of pochards could be seen. I already mentioned what those ducks were. Pochard is a word to describe any of the large diving ducks in the genus Aythya. There were many of these:
These are two distinct species of pochard ducks (Aythya spp.) but which is what is unclear to me.
And here's the birds you've all been waiting for, a pair of Lesser Scaups (Aythya affinis) with a Greater Scaup (Aythya marila) behind them. ( I think. There were definitely Greater Scaups, but I'm less certain about the photo than previously.) The notable difference in the size of the body and head is the best way to identify the two. If only one of the two species is present, it becomes far harder to identify. Generally, Greater Scaups stick to saltwater and the Great Lakes, while Lesser Scaups prefer inland waters, including the Great Lakes. This, of course, as shown here, is not always true, so be prepared for a challenging identification. (Amen!)
Several Mallards landing in formation was a notable distraction nearby. Having taken stock of the waterfowl on this side of the road, I crossed over to the other side of the road. While in a field, I heard honking, and took the picture of the Snow Geese seen several pictures back. It had been a long week of trying to get that picture, and I literally cried out in joy that I'd gotten it.
On the other side, by the breakwater, the first American Coots (Fulica americana) of the year and a pair of Mallards warily fled away from me. I'm surprised, somewhat, as these are both fairly brave species in a public park. American Coots, by the way, are not ducks. They are actually rails. Rails, for the unaware, are wetland birds that are a sort of cross between ducks and herons, though unrelated to either. They are closely genetically related to cranes, in fact. The American Coot is the most common species of rail, and in fact most native rail species are rare to see in Illinois, as they tend to prefer marshes and swamps away from people.
A nearby dead tree provided this Red-Headed Woodpecker with excellent foraging territory. I was so focused on ducks, I probably wouldn't have noticed this bird until it started giving me an alarm call. Here's why I was so focused on ducks:
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