Clandeboye Road

The ducks are back, and not in small numbers either! I was tipped off to this location by another birder on Facebook who posted some photos of the sheer numbers of ducks there and I was convinced that I had to go check it out for myself. It was well worth my time; the day afforded two lifers and 17 FOYs! Essentially a section of this road is a flooded field and various other open fields. Since the frost is still in the ground, the birds are undisturbed by farm activity. The sheer numbers were astounding. The open water was full of ducks and by my (conservative) estimates there were at least 4000 Canada Geese and 1500 Mallards! I recorded 38 species at one location over two hours of birding.

This is what I see when I first show up: a Bald Eagle flying around scaring up all the ducks, snatching one, then all the ducks settle down again. Then I notice that there's not one, but 15 eagles all squabbling over eating rights and choice seats. So that's neat. It was overwhelming at first. So many birds and separate species were present that I didn't know whether to grab my binoculars first or my camera, and even then, where to start! I'll try walk you through the afternoon with some photos.

Here is a bunch of mallards taking off as an eagle was flying around making them nervous.

Mallards (notice the other ducks on the water)

This is what the sky looked like all day: a constant stream of ducks flying in and out, or simply stretching their wings and going for a quick fly. There were always ducks in the air, always ducks taking off, and always ducks landing.

Ducks in the air

Here are some Northern Shovelers. Interestingly, they are actually Teals, but looking at the shape and size of their bills it would be impossible to not include that in the name somehow. You can easily identify these out of a group of ducks by a) their bill size and b) the chestnut flanks of the males.

Northern Shovelers (Mallards and Ring-necked Ducks in background)

These (in the foreground) are American Wigeons. You often hear the presence of these birds as they are very vocal and quite distinctive. The males make whistling sounds which are easily picked out above the din of the other ducks. Males have a green stripe down the side of their heads and a brilliant white forehead and crown. Females (as with almost all other species of duck) are more drab brown. On the far right of the photo below is a Gadwall. These are identified by the black rump and white spot which is visible on its side.

American Wigeons and Gadwall (far right)

In the photo below there are many species of duck present. I'll try to walk you through it. At the very front in the middle near the bottom are two American Wigeons immediately to the right of them is a male Gadwall. Above these ducks, about mid-height in the frame are a number of ducks with brilliant white sides; these are Scaups (a mix of Greater and Lesser). Just a bit above them are 5 Redheads (another species of Scaup) which are determined by their grey sides, black breasts, and red heads. In the very background swimming near the reeds can be found Mallards, another Redhead, and A male Ring-necked Duck.

American Wigeons, Gadwall, Greater and Lesser Scaups, Redheads

Another shot of some ducks in flight.

Mixed waterfowl in the air

Here is a Bald Eagle scanning the crowd for a target.

Bald Eagle

These are Northern Shovelers in flight. You can identify them by the white stripes down the back , the bright blue patch on their wings and their large bills. On the far right of the image are two American Wigeons which are identified by the brilliant white patches on their wings which are visible in flight.

Northern Shovelers and American Wigeons in flight

An eagle scaring some Mallards

Bald Eagle and Mallards

A flock of Mallards (and a few Northern Pintails) in flight. You can identify the pintails by their long tails in flight and smaller size. There are two of them near the center of the image that appear a little lighter brown than the ducks around them.

Mallards and a few Pintails

This is a few of a section of open water which is teeming with Mallards, Pintails, Gadwalls and other ducks

Open water with predominantly Mallards

Here are some Lesser Scaups in flight. This is one of my favorite photos of the day.

Lesser Scaups in flight

Here is another look at a section of open water filled mostly with Mallards.  A couple Northern Pintails stick out and keen eyes may pick out a few other species as well.

Open water with mixed waterfowl

There were a number of Northern Harriers patrolling the marshy land. These are neat hawks with facial discs like an owl which helps their hearing, and oversized wings and tails which make them incredible efficient and agile flyers. The British were so impressed by their flying capabilities that they studied Harrier flight extensively and even name one of their fighter jets after this family of raptors. The Northern Harrier is the only species of Harrier that occurs in North America. These hawks are identified quickly by their buoyant flight and their white rumps (the white patch between the body and the tail).

Northern Harrier

The mud was host to a couple birds as well. This Killdeer kept calling right next to me so I felt like I had to take its picture.

Killdeer

I would not have even seen this little guys if I hadn't flushed them up. There were five Snow Buntings hanging around the field and foraging in the mud.

Snow Buntings

Killdeer

Here are some American Wigeons feeding. A few Gadwall are present in the photo as well as a number of Northern Pintails. That little white slash through the image in the mid upper-left corner is a male Northern Pintail standing by his mate.

American Wigeons, Gadwalls, and Northern Pintails

The Killdeer kept begging for attention so...

Killdeer

Bald Eagles were a common sight and the uniformly grey sky provided the perfect backdrop for some silhouettes.

Bald Eagle

Two fields over from the flooded area was this field which was packed with Canada Geese, Mallards, and Northern Pintails. I was scanning the droves of geese for Cackling Geese (a smaller lookalike of Canada Geese) and Greater White-fronted Geese (a relatively unrelated species that occasionally travels with Canada Geese). With so many geese I didn't know where to start, so I just started shooting pictures to scan at home (geese don't move in a picture).

Canada Geese

Canada Geese

It's the Bald Eagle again!

Bald Eagle

This little beauty of a falcon (called an American Kestrel) was perched on a hydro line nearby. I'm not kidding when I say little; these minute birds of prey are no larger than a Blue Jay. Thus their diet contains small birds, small rodents, frogs, and lots of grasshoppers in the summer.

American Kestrel

American Kestrel

This Northern Harrier gave me a fly-by as I was observing the Kestrel.

Northern Harrier

 I went back to the flooded field to see if anything had moved around. Stuff had. This picture shows a large group of Ring-necked Ducks (another species of Scaup) which I hadn't noticed before. There are a few Northern Shovelers near the front of the photo as well as some Mallards all around (they were everywhere).

Ring-necked Ducks, Northern Shovelers, and Mallards

Traveling a couple hundred meters down a dirt road exposed this introverted American Wigeon.

American Wigeon

Also while on this road I discovered a couple Ruby-crowned Kinglets, heard some Song Sparrows, an American Tree Sparrow, and a Swamp Sparrow which was a "lifer". I put lifer in quotations because I have identified and even banded one of these birds before, but have never submitted one in an eBird checklist. So according to eBird, this Swamp Sparrow was a lifer for me. Another interesting find was a couple of Rusty Blackbirds, an uncommon and generally secluded species that most people just overlook since they are vaguely similar to grackles. Their songs are one of the nicer blackbird songs, however, and they are generally softer-spoken and shy. I was glad I came across a small group of these things. There was also a large flock of almost 150 Red-winged Blackbirds present, foraging one of last year's corn fields, and flying in and out of the marsh.

Here is a raft of Northern Shovelers with a male Mallard in the center, two American Wigeons on the far right, and a mix of waterfowl including Scaups and Ring-necked Ducks at the back.

Northern Shovelers, Mallards, American Wigeons

Back to the goose field... I spotted this pair of Cackling Geese close(ish) to the road which I decided to take some pictures of. They are in the exact center of this photo. Notice their small size, and slightly lighter feathers.

Cackling Geese among Canada Geese

Here one Cackler is just left of center with the other being far right. Notice its short, stubby bill. Also notice the male Northern Pintail far right, mid height in the image.

Cackling Geese, Canada Geese, and a Northern Pintail

Two Cackling Geese standing at attention

Little puddles in the field were packed with life. Canada Geese, Mallards, and Northern Pintails were all vying for space in and around the water. If one looks closely near the center of this image they'll notice that three geese are not like the others.

Canada Geese, Mallards, Northern Pintails, and three different geese

As I was reviewing the photos at home I discovered these three oddballs in the photo above and I cropped the section out (see the image below) to make them easier to see. They are the Greater White-fronted Geese which I was searching for (and had never seen before). Lifers are always great!

Three Greater White-fronted Geese hanging out with the Canada Geese, Mallards and Northern Pintails

I spent a little while just trying to get some pictures of the birds in flight. Geese are easier targets than the faster flying and faster flapping ducks.

Canada Geese in flight

Canada Geese in flight

Canada Geese

Mallards in flight

Canada Geese in flight

Another small falcon! A Merlin! This falcon preys almost entirely on small birds and are masters of flight. They fly really fast and use their speed and the element of surprise to try capture small birds they flush out of hiding. You can differentiate between Merlins and American Kestrels in flight in that Merlins fly by fluttering their wingtips while Kestrels use their whole wings in flight.

Merlin

Merlin

As I was scanning the great flock of geese I heard gunshots. Duck hunters had arrived. With the first crack of the gun, up went all of the geese and ducks. This time, however, they didn't settle back down so fast. They knew what that sound meant. I decided that my time on Clandeboye Road was up for the day and I decided to move on.

Hope you enjoyed this lengthy post. If you're interested in knowing exactly what I saw, check out my Clandeboye Road Bird Log post. I sure enjoyed recounting my experience as well as some of the identification tips I learned both from personal experience and observation that afternoon. I really learned so much about how to differentiate between different types of ducks both in flight and in the water. As much as studying bird books, memorizing bird calls, and looking at photos of birds helps one become a better birder, the best way is simply to get out and observe these things for yourself. Thanks for following along once again!

Joel G.