Another Bird Post

 

As if I don't have enough problems figuring out if my ongoing wrist pain is tendonitis or arthritis, now my bus buddy has suggested it could actually be carpal tunnel syndrome. Whatever, I think it's just part of getting old. This morning I was fine when I got up and took the bus to work, but after sitting at my desk, when I got up, my back was spasming. It's been like that the rest of the day, and so at lunch I was walking very slowly, which might be why the birds were reacting so oddly to me. A tiny yellow and black bird, which I think was a Townsend's warbler, came right up to me as I walked along, and it followed me for a little bit. Then a red-headed woodpecker followed me, and then I realized the large flock of coots on the lake were following me. I thought no, surely not - they were just all swimming toward the boat house. I figured I wouldn't get freaked out unless they followed me when I turned around. But wouldn't you know - just as I turned around, a pier repair boat with some pier parts on it came along, and it scared the coots so they all turned around and went the other way, just like me. I think that was just a coincidence, but it was pretty weird, because it really felt like the coots were following me down the path and then following me back the other way. Were they puzzled by my slow gait?

As promised, here are some photos that Travalon took in Okee yesterday. There were pelicans that looked like they were having bad hair days.

Here is a photo of the one loon we saw:

Some eagles sitting on the ice:

And here's a gull eating a fish:

Here is a pelican with a red-breasted merganser:

And here is a gull with a red-breasted merganser:

These photos are from the causeway to Tipperary Road. The northern shoveler is such a handsome duck, but its bill is so long. Here is a pair; the female is on the left, and the male is on the right.

And this is a male blue-winged teal. We haven't seen any off our dock yet this spring, but last year we saw them every day for most of April.

This is a red-breasted merganser:

Here are some scaups:

Another red-breasted merganser:

Here is a pair of red-breasted mergansers. The male is the one with white on his side.

This photo just makes me laugh. The gull looks so annoyed! The ducks look like female red-breasted mergansers.

Here are three kinds of mergansers. First, a hooded merganser:

Next, a red-breasted merganser:

And this is a common merganser:

Another shot of the red-breasted merganser:

And here you can see a common merganser, a red-breasted merganser, some gulls, and scaups in the foreground. A true bird party!

 

I am not sure why bird parties make me so, so happy. Maybe seeing all the birds hanging out together, looking like they are having a great time, makes me feel their joy vicariously. It's spring! The water is thawing! Let's party!

Famous Hat