Gellert and I set out this noon to take as many lousy photos of distant Eurasian Wigeon as possible.
With a goal like that, there’s no place like Jericho Park, where at least one female–perhaps the same female as in today’s dozens of really, truly, phenomenally lousy photos–has been hanging out for a month or more. Happily, my intention wasn’t aesthetic but educational: I’ve now got plenty of material to pore over as I try to learn more about identifying these birds.
Not even a Labrador retriever can watch ducks indefinitely (though he was very good through the whole exercise), so we walked out on the crab pier to see what was to see.
The lone fisherman out there had attracted a lone first-cycle Bonaparte’s Gull, along with the usual raggedy assortment of Glaucous-winged-type Gulls. We looked carefully for anything Westernish, but couldn’t come up with anything better than this hybrid with fairly dark wingtips and a slightly brighter than usual bill.
Pretty unconvincing. Nothing to write home about, this one!
Gellert finally grew impatient.
So we checked the ponds, where there was a single drake Bufflehead, another 100 or so American Wigeon, and a grumpy-looking Great Blue Heron having a post-prandial preen.
Common stuff, usual stuff, wonderful stuff! I’ve got three Nature Vancouver trips to Jericho coming this week. Join us?
