Male Ruddy Duck
Male Ruddy Duck The Ruddy Duck is highly adapted for aquatic life style. Feet set far back on body, which aids diving. Has among the largest feet relative to body size of all ducks.
Male Ruddy Duck The Ruddy Duck is highly adapted for aquatic life style. Feet set far back on body, which aids diving. Has among the largest feet relative to body size of all ducks.
It was very exciting to see this Gray Catbird last Friday as this usually is one of the first birds to migrate north in the Spring. The Gray Catbird was named for its mewing call, although few people would mistake the sound of this bird for that of an actual cat.
American Black Ducks look like female Mallards except with an olive-yellow bill. Look for American Black Ducks in both fresh and saltwater in eastern North America. This American Black Duck was photographed at Stuyvesant Cove which is a small park area on the East River in lower Manhattan.
Gadwall Duck Male photographed at Stuyvesant Cove which is on the East River in lower Manhattan. Gadwall’s mainly eat Aquatic vegetation. As a result, Gadwalls are often found feeding far from the shoreline, in deeper water than most other dabbling ducks.
The Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis) is a North American bird in the genus Cardinalis; it is also known colloquially as the redbird or common cardinal. A perennial favorite among people, the Northern Cardinal is the state bird of seven states. Northern Cardinals don’t migrate and they don’t molt into a dull plumage, so they’re still breathtaking in winter’s snowy backyards.
There are two adult plumage variations for the White-throated Sparrow which are the tan-striped and white-striped forms.The photograph above is the tan form, the crown is dark brown with a tan central stripe. The two color morphs of the White-throated Sparrows occur in approximately equal numbers. Both male and female white-striped birds are more aggressive than tan-striped birds during the breeding season.
The photograph of this adult non-breeding Long-tailed Duck was taken at the Coast Guard Station at Jones Beach in Nassau County, New York. I used the Canon 5D Mark III with the Canon 100-400mm lens to photograph this beautiful Long-tailed Duck. The Long-tailed Duck is one of the deepest diving ducks, and can dive as deep as 60 meters (200 feet) to forage.
The picture of this Great Blue Heron was taken at the Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge in Oceanville, New Jersey. This photo was taken with the Canon 5D Mark III with the Canon 100-400mm lens during a recent winter visit to the Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge. This Great Blue Heron was in hunting mode standing statue-like, stalking fish and other prey in shallow water.
The picture of this lovely Savannah Sparrow was taken at the Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge during the winter months. I used the Canon 5D Mark III Camera with the Canon 100-400mm lens for this photograph. The Savannah Sparrow has a small head, and telltale yellow spot before the eye. Savannah Sparrows are one of the most numerous songbirds in North America.
The picture of the beautiful Male Northern Pintail Duck was taken at the Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge in Oceanville, New Jersey.
Common Mergansers are sometimes called sawbills, fish ducks, or goosanders. The word “merganser” comes from the Latin and roughly translates to “plunging goose”—a good name for this very large and often submerged duck.
Slim and long-necked, the Northern Pintail has a distinctive silhouette. The male is easy to identify by his striking markings and long tail, but even the female can be recognized by her graceful, long-necked shape. The pintail gets its name from its pointed tail feathers.
Adult white morph Snow Geese are completely white except for gray primary-coverts and black primaries. Snow Geese occasionally have rusty-orange staining on head and upper neck as a result of digging or grubbing in sediment or mud containing iron oxides. Snow Geese are probably the noisiest of all waterfowl. Vocalizations are considered calls, not songs.
Rusty Blackbird is one of North America’s most rapidly declining species. The population has plunged an estimated 85-99 percent over the past forty years and scientists are completely puzzled as to what is the cause. The picture of this female Rusty Blackbird was taken in the Bronx, New York.
Atlantic Brant leave breeding grounds in the eastern low arctic, in early Sep and assemble in large concentrations in James Bay, where they remain for several weeks building up fat reserves. They depart overland, most flying nonstop to Jamaica Bay and the other nearby estuaries of the greater New York City Area and New Jersey where they arrive late Oct/early Nov.