Smart move

Last year about this time, there was a good-sized group of green-winged teal that had moved from the marsh proper into the small pond alongside the railbed. This morning I found these three, one male, two female, feeding there, along with another group resting on a clump of cattails. They are one of the last ducks to leave the marsh in the fall - and one of the earliest to return in the spring.

Teal green teal

This fellow, a male green-winged teal, was all by his lonesome Saturday at the marsh. His green wing feathers (speculum) are easily seen here, and his head is beginning to take on its breeding plumage colours.

Our smallest dabbler

This green-winged teal was feeding in the duckweed this morning, too. Its beak and the little patch of green on its wing distinguish it from the very similar blue-winged teal.

Pretty birds

I wasn't planning to take my camera on my walk today, what with the inclement weather we've been experiencing, but decided to take it after all as invariably, when I don't take it I regret it. For one thing, I wouldn't have been able to catch these two green-winged teal drakes I noticed close to shore. There were three males at the one spot (likely their mates are nesting). They should be starting to molt into their summer plumage in another week or so.

Sitting it out

I noticed this male Green-winged teal taking it easy among some grass clumps this morning. No sign of his mate, so perhaps she has begun to nest somewhere. Apparently they sometimes nest far from water, as do several of the ducks.

Back from the sunny south

The migrants are slowing returning to the marsh - this morning I saw the first Green-winged Teals, two pair to be exact. They are one of the earliest of the ducks to return to the marsh, and our smallest dabbling duck. The drake, in full breeding plumage, is seen in the top photo, with the hen, showing her green speculum, in the bottom one.

The loner

The mallards are still present on the marsh, as seen here, which isn't at all unusual for this time of the year - but what is unusual (although not unheard of) is for this one lone male Green-winged Teal to still be around.

Still here

On Monday I also saw five male Green-winged Teals when I thought they had all left the marsh. They were together with several black ducks, hiding among the cattails. I caught these two after I had startled them out of the cattails.

Hugging the shallows

Yesterday, the 10th, still under gray skies with strong winds, I did find twelve Green-winged Teals, ten males and two females, feeding and resting in the cattails at the upper end of the marsh (three of the males shown here). No sign of them today, so they may have departed.

Hanging in there

There are still a fair number of ducks on the marsh: mallards, ring-necks, American wigeons, wood ducks (hiding in the dead trees, at mid-day anyway), black ducks, and many Green-winged Teals. These are two male green-wings I watched feeding in the shallows this morning. They will be some of the last ducks to leave the marsh.

Almost there

This morning I finally got a shot of a male Green-winged Teal that has gotten close to finishing his molt into his winter plumage. I still wasn't fond of the quality of the shot, so I tried putting it though a watercolor filter in my editing program, and was pleased with the result.

The water's running free...

There was one place yesterday where there were a number of ducks swimming about, and that was in the stream next to the marsh, which had overflowed its banks due to the heavy rainfall. This Green-winged Teal (female) was one of a group swimming in a flooded spot.

In the quiet of the evening

It was relatively quiet in the marsh this evening, but I saw a few things moving about, including a muskrat, a pair of black ducks, two young wood ducks, and this female Green-winged Teal.

Are you coming??

When I climbed into one of the viewing stands this morning, I noticed a duck sitting a little ways out on the water quacking away, while looking toward the cattails that border the marsh. It wasn't long before another duck swam out of the cattails towards the first duck, then they flew off together. After a closer look, I realized that the "quacking" one was a female Green-winged Teal (top photo), and the one in the cattails was a male, possibly her mate (bottom photo). Notice the rust color starting to show on the male's chin, and a bit of green beginning to come through on his head.

Now you see me, now you don't...

At one point on my walk this morning, I could hear splashing out on the marsh. When I checked its source with my binoculars, I discovered that it was a foursome of (I think) young Green-winged Teals, who were continually diving under the surface and popping up again, one after the other. Mom was nonchalantly looking on. In this photo, two of the young ducks are under the water.