After a hard day sitting on the ground eating seeds that fell from the bird feeder, our Mourning Dove is finally taking a break. That quick flight to the top of the tree was tiring, too. Despite all it exertions, our dove graciously agreed to have its picture taken.

Doves are disrespected as nuisance birds. In reality, they have a delicately ornamented plumage that is quite beautiful, especially in flight. Our dove’s feathers are a bit worn in places, but they will be replaced in the next moult.

Glancing out the window, I saw this dove bathed in a soft and luminous light. It was hardly the perfect example of its kind, but the light drew me to it. I had to shoot through a double-paned window. The resulting slight haze on the image was removed, luckily, by the photo editor. It was either that or no photo. If I had opened the window to shoot, the subject would have flown off.

Incidentally, the dove is not just loafing. It had earlier filled its crop with seeds dropped by other birds at our feeder, and was now taking time to digest them. Seeds make up almost all of its diet.

This photo was taken on April 9, 2012 at 5:15 pm.

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A small flock of Common Mergansers, some 13-15 individuals, stayed with us on the pond for most of the winter, leaving just a few weeks ago, presumably for its nesting area further north (I actually saw it go). It was replaced by another, of similar size. Then another. There may even have been a fourth — it was hard to keep track. Once or twice, there was overlap, one flock arriving before the other left.

These graceful, diving ducks were presumably attracted to the pond by the warm winter weather, the absence of pond ice, and the ample supply of small fish they feed on. Despite the recent, massive die-off
of these fish (Bluegills, a type of Sunfish), there are apparently still enough to sustain the ducks.

(Which leads me to wonder, could the fish be victims — not of pollution, or oxygen depletion, as some of us had suggested — but of their own success, the die-off being due to over-population?)

Common Mergansers will dive down and grab a slippery fish under water with a serrated bill. They often hunt non-stop, even while moving along, diving quickly and re-emerging seconds later some ten or twenty feet further on. While in this hunting mode, they exhibit obvious nervous energy, darting here and there quickly, and often moving across the water at great speed.

Interestingly, the latest flock to arrive does not seem to employ this traditional, serial-diving method. Instead, they use a “snorkeling” technique, plowing along with their heads partially submerged, looking down into the water for prey. This obviously saves them energy, but the drawback is equally obvious: their range of vision may be limited in turbid water.

On April 7, 2012, several males came close to my shore and gave me a private demonstration. They moved very fast, however, coming and going before I could get off more than a few shots. The top and bottom photos show them with their heads in the water as they swim along — what I’ve dubbed “snorkeling.” So far, I’ve not seen the females engage in this behavior.

This is a subject crying out for more information. Is this a unique behavior, or can it be seen among other Common Merganser flocks, or even among other duck species?

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We have the usual throng of American Robins this spring, thankfully. There seem to be enough grubs and worms to go around.

This one uncharacteristically perched itself halfway up the trunk of an old maple to look in on me. Yes, that’s what it was doing, I have no doubt. One only has to watch birds and animals long enough to realize they are curious just as we are. A survival trait, no doubt.

I opened the window to take this photograph, but the robin stayed put, directly opposite me, maybe a hundred feet away. Quite used to these humans, robins are. It was April 8 at 9:20 am.

In my last post, I noted the scarcity of squirrels and chipmunks so far this spring, suggesting it may be due to the presence of the Bald Eagles. Bird life seems little affected, however. The Gold Finches, sparrows, chickadees and juncos are all at the thistle feeder, in their usual number. Myriad other birds are flying about. Four species of ducks ply the pond. When an eagle appears, though, the gulls take to the air as one, and the Canada Geese honk a chorus of complaint.

The Great Blue Herons have arrived in force. One Double-crested Cormorant has shown up, but it’s early days for them.

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I had just pulled into the driveway, and was unloading groceries, when the Bald Eagle swooped in and alighted on its usual perch high up in Jim’s old Willow tree. I put the bags down, went quietly into the house, came back out with my camera, and began shooting from the front deck. This was the first photo-op when the light was in my favor, and I didn’t want to blow the chance.

After clicking for about a minute, I stepped off the deck to get closer, and the eagle promptly flew off. Did I spook it? Probably, although it had not stayed long in the willow during its last two visits, nor had it seemed bothered by my presence on the ground. It was 6:10 pm on April 2, 2012.

The shot of the eagle departing (right) is blurry because I was intent on getting a good photo of the great bird perching. I knew it would fly off at any moment. To catch it in flight, I would need a very fast shutter, but that would have lessened my portrait image quality. So I forsook the speed, and opted for the quality.

I offer the flight photo, blurry as it is, to convey some idea of the vast wingspan of this majestic bird, some eighty inches for adults. Early one recent morning, the eagle flew directly over my house at tree-top height, just as I was raising a shade. I had but a moment’s glimpse straight up at those broad wings. Only then did I fully appreciate the great size of this iconic bird.

A few bald truths about the Bald Eagle, via my friend, Robin: Not only is it a mighty hunter, but also an habitual scavenger, eating offal, carrion and garbage when available. The male and female share duties on the nest. With eyes larger than most birds,’ and eyesight eight times better than ours, it can spot a field mouse or vole on the ground a mile away.

From my neighbor Jim: One of the pair we saw back in January must now be on the nest. That makes sense. According to The Sibley Guide to Birds, young Bald Eagles in northern climes (such as ours) are fully fledged and independent by August. The adult male and female look alike — the female being slightly larger — so we don’t know which one is on the nest at any given time, and which we’re seeing in the air.

From my neighbor, Andrea: Squirrels and chipmunks are scarce this spring, in striking contrast to the mobs that shared our yard in recent years. I saw a few squirrels and one chippie a few weeks back, during that early warm spell, but none since — except for one fluffy gray squirrel named “Ham” (above) that showed up recently. There are several reasons, well recognized, why small mammal populations can vary from year to year. The presence of raptors could certainly have a local effect. I hope the little, furry creatures come back; I miss their joie de vivre.

Update: This post was originally published as, New Bald Eagle Photos. Sorry for any confusion.

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