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treacherous snow ban This message is in MIME format. --=_WPAginQm29uWG7uaYxMHeQ1 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8; format=flowed; DelSp=Yes Content-Description: Plaintext Message Content-Disposition: inline Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit Hi Jim, I have been seeing the scaup on the Port Williams sewer pond for a while now. I have taken the three to be a drake greater scaup and a pair of lesser scaup. The face pattern of the female is to my eye less distinct as you mention, the bird guides seem to say that the lesser scaup female has less white behind the bill than a greater scaup female. The two drakes seem to be slightly different, one is whiter than the other and the head of the whiter one seems to be larger in proportion to its body. Yesterday I walked along the east side of the pond and was able to see them with the light behind them and the silhouettes seems to suggest rounder head on the whiter sided drake and flatter heads on the two others, all three were in alert posture because I was so close. I'll take any help with identifying scaup! At first I entered these into eBird as scaup sp. Then Richard showed me his photo and I read Jake Walker's notes and share their identification of the obviously whiter drake as a greater scaup, but I am still not certain about the other two. Certainly a challenge! Respectfully, George Forsyth Quoting Jim Wolford <jimwolford@eastlink.ca>: > Begin forwarded message: > >> FROM: Jim Wolford <jimwolford@eastlink.ca> >> SUBJECT: [VALLEYNATURE] KING'S CO. PONDS, DUCKS, GEESE, CORMORANTS, >> ROADS >> DATE: April 28, 2015 at 6:10:24 PM ADT >> TO: Nature BNS <nature@blomidonnaturalists.ca> >> >> APRIL 28, 2015 - Continuing nasty “spring” weather — >> cold, windy, with frequent rain and wet snow. I drove around through >> it and checked out several ponds. Most local ponds are either totally >> open now or well into opening up. >> >> PORT WILLIAMS SEWAGE/SEWER PONDS: 15 RING-NECKED DUCKS consisted >> of 3 m/f prs + 12 ‘extra’ males; 3 GREATER SCAUPS were a single male >> and a m/f pair, but the female was weird-looking, with a poorly defined >> light patch behind the beak and another poorly defined light patch on >> the cheek (sort of scoter-like)(this head pattern is shown in Sibley as >> a non-breeding female); no sign of the male long-tailed duck or >> oldsquaw that was reported earlier; also no puddle ducks, nor >> red-winged blackbirds, nor swallows. BEWARE that the ACCESS ROAD is >> passable but very tricky to avoid the deepest low spots. >> >> STELLA’S POND (nw. New Minas, adjacent to Cornwallis River): 2 >> CANADA GEESE (female prominently ON A NEST on west end of island) with >> her mate dutifully nearby in the water; also 2 DOUBLE-CRESTED >> CORMORANTS (and 1 more seen flying somewhere else today). >> >> CANARD POND: totally open water, but the only waterfowl were a >> pair of CANADA GEESE — one goose was on top of a large muskrat lodge >> (perhaps will be a nest-site?). BEWARE that the ACCESS PATH still has >> a treacherous snow bank at its east end, where I got stuck today. I >> was very lucky that 3 teenagers noticed my predicament and were very >> generous to extricate me! >> >> SAXON ST. POND: totally open, but no birds at all. >> >> GESNER’S POND (M. Dyke Rd., n. of Belcher St.): not yet >> completely open, and no birds seen there today. >> >> KIDSTON’S POND (upper Church St.): not quite open water yet, and >> no birds. >> >> VAN NOSTRAND’S POND (the new part)(ne. of Pt. Wms., near Starr’s >> Point): water open, but no birds seen (I saw the usual pair of CANADA >> GEESE there a couple of days ago, and they usually nest there, perhaps >> on the cattail island) — also SPECKLED ALDER was in flower there >> earlier. >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Nature mailing list >> Nature@blomidonnaturalists.ca >> http://blomidonnaturalists.ca/mailman/listinfo/nature_blomidonnaturalists.ca --=_WPAginQm29uWG7uaYxMHeQ1 Content-Type: text/html; charset=UTF-8 Content-Description: HTML Message Content-Disposition: inline <!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd"> <html> <head> <meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"> <title></title> </head> <body style="font-family:Arial;font-size:14px"> <p>Hi Jim,<br> <br> I have been seeing the scaup on the Port Williams sewer pond for a while now.<br> <br> I have taken the three to be a drake greater scaup and a pair of lesser scaup. The face pattern of the female is to my eye less distinct as you mention, the bird guides seem to say that the lesser scaup female has less white behind the bill than a greater scaup female. The two drakes seem to be slightly different, one is whiter than the other and the head of the whiter one seems to be larger in proportion to its body. Yesterday I walked along the east side of the pond and was able to see them with the light behind them and the silhouettes seems to suggest rounder head on the whiter sided drake and flatter heads on the two others, all three were in alert posture because I was so close.<br> <br> I'll take any help with identifying scaup! At first I entered these into eBird as scaup sp. Then Richard showed me his photo and I read Jake Walker's notes and share their identification of the obviously whiter drake as a greater scaup, but I am still not certain about the other two. Certainly a challenge!<br> <br> Respectfully,</p> <p>George Forsyth<br> <br> <br> Quoting Jim Wolford <jimwolford@eastlink.ca>:</p> <blockquote style="border-left:2px solid blue;margin-left:2px;padding-left:12px;" type="cite"> <p><br></p> <div style=""><br> <div>Begin forwarded message:</div> <br class="Apple-interchange-newline"> <blockquote type="cite"> <div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px;"><span style="font-family:'Helvetica'; color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 1.0);"><b>From:</b></span> <span style="font-family:'Helvetica';">Jim Wolford <jimwolford@eastlink.ca></span></div> <div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px;"><span style="font-family:'Helvetica'; color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 1.0);"><b>Subject:</b></span> <span style="font-family:'Helvetica';"><b>[ValleyNature] King's Co. ponds, ducks, geese, cormorants, roads</b></span></div> <div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px;"><span style="font-family:'Helvetica'; color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 1.0);"><b>Date:</b></span> <span style="font-family:'Helvetica';">April 28, 2015 at 6:10:24 PM ADT</span></div> <div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px;"><span style="font-family:'Helvetica'; color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 1.0);"><b>To:</b></span> <span style="font-family:'Helvetica';">Nature BNS <nature@blomidonnaturalists.ca></span></div> <br> <div> <div style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space;"> <div style="margin: 0px;"><b>APRIL 28, 2015</b> - Continuing nasty “spring” weather — cold, windy, with frequent rain and wet snow. I drove around through it and checked out several ponds. Most local ponds are either totally open now or well into opening up.</div> <div style="margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"> </div> <div style="margin: 0px;"><b>Port Williams sewage/sewer ponds</b>: 15 <b>ring-necked ducks</b> consisted of 3 m/f prs + 12 ‘extra’ males; 3 <b>greater scaups</b> were a single male and a m/f pair, but the female was weird-looking, with a poorly defined light patch behind the beak and another poorly defined light patch on the cheek (sort of scoter-like)(this head pattern is shown in Sibley as a non-breeding female); no sign of the male long-tailed duck or oldsquaw that was reported earlier; also no puddle ducks, nor red-winged blackbirds, nor swallows. <b>Beware</b> that the <b>access road</b> is passable but very tricky to avoid the deepest low spots.</div> <div style="margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"> </div> <div style="margin: 0px;"><b>Stella’s Pond</b> (nw. New Minas, adjacent to Cornwallis River): 2 <b>Canada geese</b> (female prominently <b>on a nest</b> on west end of island) with her mate dutifully nearby in the water; also 2 <b>double-crested cormorants</b> (and 1 more seen flying somewhere else today).</div> <div style="margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"> </div> <div style="margin: 0px;"><b>Canard Pond</b>: totally open water, but the only waterfowl were a pair of <b>Canada geese</b> — one goose was on top of a large muskrat lodge (perhaps will be a nest-site?). <b>BEWARE</b> that the <b>access path</b> still has a treacherous snow bank at its east end, where I got stuck today. I was very lucky that 3 teenagers noticed my predicament and were very generous to extricate me!</div> <div style="margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"> </div> <div style="margin: 0px;"><b>Saxon St. Pond</b>: totally open, but no birds at all.</div> <div style="margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"> </div> <div style="margin: 0px;"><b>Gesner’s Pond</b> (M. Dyke Rd., n. of Belcher St.): not yet completely open, and no birds seen there today.</div> <div style="margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"> </div> <div style="margin: 0px;"><b>Kidston’s Pond</b> (upper Church St.): not quite open water yet, and no birds.</div> <div style="margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"> </div> <div style="margin: 0px;"><b>Van Nostrand’s Pond</b> (the new part)(ne. of Pt. Wms., near Starr’s Point): water open, but no birds seen (I saw the usual pair of <b>Canada geese</b> there a couple of days ago, and they usually nest there, perhaps on the cattail island) — also <b>speckled alder</b> was in flower there earlier.</div> </div> _______________________________________________<br> Nature mailing list<br> Nature@blomidonnaturalists.ca<br> http://blomidonnaturalists.ca/mailman/listinfo/nature_blomidonnaturalists.ca</div> </blockquote> </div> </blockquote> <p><br> <br></p> </body> </html> --=_WPAginQm29uWG7uaYxMHeQ1--
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