Gadwall

Some Gadwall images taken at Crystal Springs Rhododendron Garden back on February 11th.

American Wigeon - "White Cheeked"

While taking some shots of various ducks at Crystal Springs Rhododendron Garden, I noticed an American Wigeon with a rather white face. It was among a feeding frenzy caused by a visitor tossing feed into the water. It really stood out from the rest of the ducks.

I did a web search on "white cheeked" American Wigeons and found that it is a rare morph. One site stated that it occurs in about 1 out of every 500 birds. Not that rare considering the number one can see around here doing the winter. Based on some of the pictures I saw, some cases are not as extreme as this bird's coloration, so I suppose it may not always be as apparent.

A typical male American Wigeon taken earlier in the day at Westmoreland Park, cheeks heavily covered in small dark specks.

Song Sparrow

This brave Song Sparrow actually hopped within a few feet of me on the boardwalk at Crystal Springs Rhododendron Garden. I suppose it is used to people and used to them feeding the ducks that it felt compelled to approach me as it did. It even stood by while I squatted down to get a better vantage point to shoot from. I can't image that it was desperately hungry.

As I have mentioned in the past, even though they are very common, Song Sparrows are one of my favorite to shoot as they can be such willing posers; especially during the breeding season.

Double-crested Cormorant

A double-crested Cormorant sitting on a favorite log at Crystal Spring Rhododendron Garden this past Nov 5. Still a bird I find most fascinating as, in my mind, I can picture them living out their lives in prehistoric times.

None-the-less, they are doing quite well in this time period as Cornell's All About Birds states; "The Double-crested Cormorant is the most numerous and widespread North American cormorant. It's also the only one that occurs in large numbers inland as well as on the coast. Growing in numbers throughout its range, this cormorant is increasingly being blamed for declines in sport fisheries and for devastating fish farms."

Wood Duck

I stopped by Crystal Springs Rhododendron Garden a week ago last Saturday after spending some time at Westmoreland Park. There are usually good opportunities for closeups of water fowl there and this time the stars were several Wood Ducks.

They usually scurry away when they see you coming, but I found a few that I think were a little sleepy and let me get close. Despite a typical low light Oregon day, these ducks stayed still enough to get a few great shots. They have outstanding plumage!

Wood Duck

Well I missed being able to go out birding on the beautiful day today because I was involved in another one of my hobbies. I design stage lights for Wilsonville High School drama productions about twice a year. Right now I am working on two shows and I had to put in time at the high school so that I can complete the lights for opening night. Kind of a bummer though as this was the first nice day in quite a while.
So instead of a some new pictures from today, I'm posting some images of a Wood Duck I took at Crystal Springs Rhododendron Garden on the 9th. Male Wood Ducks have the most amazing colors on their plumage. I never get tired of watching them.

Bufflehead

I find male Buffleheads difficult to photograph. The extreme contrast between the bright white and dark black feathers can make exposure difficult. Even worse, the black areas on its head have iridescence greens and purple. Always a problem to get right in an image.

The interesting thing is that these features also make them a beautiful duck.
I took these images at Crystal Springs Rhododendron Garden. I was able to get in close, but it was a dreary day which resulted in slow shutter speeds, so many of them turned out blurry. But they are also the best images of Buffleheads I have taken to date.

Lesser Scaup - Female

Female Lesser Scaup taken at Crystal Springs Rhododendron Garden on January 9th.

Gadwall

When I started birding last March I saw a lot of ducks, but I didn't see any Gadwalls until into May. They are supposed to be year round residents here, so it may be that I just missed them since they are not as flashy as other ducks during mating season. I'll have to keep an eye out as Spring approaches to see if they disappear for a while.
The male Gadwalls above are in breeding plumage now. Their heads are browner than when I first saw them last Spring and this past Summer. These were preening so they are showing off some of the coloring of their upper wings. The reddish patch offset with the black and white on their wings are very attractive features.

Double-crested Cormorant

I made the statement a couple of months ago that Double-crested Cormorants were one of my favorite birds. That might have been a little strong. There are a lot of birds to choose favorites from. Even so, the Double-crested has some very interesting features, especially if you can get in close.
I was feeling better yesterday, so I bundled up and headed out to a Wintler Park on the Vancouver, WA side of the Columbia River. I had never been there before, but I had heard that Barrow's Goldeneyes had been seen there the day before. Since I have never seen a Barrow's, I thought I'd give it a try. I was successful on this bird chase and was able to get some reasonable pictures. I also saw a Common Loon, Western Grebe, Horned Grebe and loads of Lesser and Greater Scaups in various rafts on the river.
But as great as all that was, I have spent a lot of time chasing birds lately and while I have had some success, most of the pictures I get are of birds off in the distance. I like to get in close to the birds, so I decided that before the day was over, I'd make a trip over to Crystal Springs Rhododendron Garden. Birding for water fowl there can sometimes be like shooting fish in a barrel, especially if visitors are feeding the ducks, but you can't beat how close you can get.
The duck population was pretty good when I got there and they were being fed. But the bird that caught my eye again were the Double-crested Cormorants. I saw one on a log protruding out into the pond in the same place I had seen my first last Spring as you can see in the top image.
The second one I saw was diving just off shore a little further up the trail. I played cat and mouse with it similar to the Eared Grebe I saw last week at Fernhill Wetlands. I got several photos of it with the best one seen above.

Lesser Scaup

A couple of male Lesser Scaup. The one in the lower image has more mottled breast and rump feathers. I'm not sure if it is winter plumage or a immature male. Based on some information on Cornell's site, it may be a non-breading male.

Herring Gull

I'm pretty sure this is a Herring Gull. There are a few gulls like this that are pretty similar. This was taken back a few weeks ago during my Saturday afternoon at the Crystal Springs Rhododendron Garden. At times, taking pictures there felt a bit like shooting fish in a barrel, because the birds were so used to people you could get real close. Not as much sport, less natural. But it sure is nice to get real close shots. Even will my telephoto zoom at 300mm, it's best if the bird is within 20 feet or so to get a real nice clean image.

Lesser Scaup

This female Lesser Scaup is another duck I have never seen before. I got some pictures of a male too, but none turned out quite as nice as this one. I'll post one of the male soon.

Wood Duck

A male (top) and female (bottom) Wood. I shot these back on March 13 at the Crystal Springs Rhododendron Garden.

Fox Squirrel

I believe this is a variety of Fox Squirrel. They were quite common at the garden.

Mallard

When I first entered the Rhododendron Garden, the first thing I was struck with were all the Mallards. They were everywhere and I hadn't even gotten to the water yet. This male was swimming in a shallow pool. I was not the only person taking pictures of birds that day and the Mallards were very popular since they were plentiful, beautiful and cooperative.

Song Sparrow

While I saw several Song Sparrows last Saturday at the Garden, it was hard to get a picture of them as they were either hidden within some leaves or branches or moving around too much. I did manage to get a few of this one. The top image provides a good view of its back and tail, while the bottom image provides a good view of its breast and face.

Grape Hyacinths

While there weren't many Rhododendrons blooming yet, the Grape Hyacinths were out in full force.

American Coot

I like the fact that you can see one of the American Coot's legs under the water in the upper picture. They have interesting lobed toes instead of webbed feet as seen in bottom image. I seem to remember their bodies being darker like their head when I saw them as a kid in Minnesota.

American Wigeon

Having done most of my birding as a grade-schooler in rural Minnesota, I find that there are a fair number of birds here in Oregon that I have never seen before in person. This American Wigeon is one such bird. I got several pictures of males like the one in this image, but no females. I assume there may have been some, but I wasn't aware of them. Female ducks tend to be plainer looking than their male counter parts and attack less attention (Hmmm, maybe that's intentional). Now that I know what the female looks like, next time I'm at the Rhododendron Garden, I'll be looking for one.