Post by Gord on Aug 11, 2006 14:35:07 GMT -8
Stopped off at Cheam Lake briefly.
From the first part of the Loop Trail I saw two ducklings not much more than a week of age. There wasnt any adult immediately with them, although there were several wood duck hens and a moulting male nearby. There were also 3 mallard hens but they were lounging on a log further away. I think these were wood duck ducklings based on size, smaller bill and head shape, wide dark forehead and a very pale yellow if not basically white on the light parts. That's pretty late for ducklings that Ive seen, especially not mallards!
Also here was a female hooded merganser but it looked really ratty that it could have been a juvenile one. Head did not have a 'plume' but the wing feathers when it flew did not show any hint of moult, consistant with juvenile ducks whom I believe do not moult their wing feathers like the adults do a bit later. The white in the secondaries of the wing feathers was more scant than what the book shows and from what I can remember which is not much as Ive never paid close attention.
Other cool things was a olive-sided flycatcher, a family of Bullock's oriole and over 8 eastern kingbirds making a racket.
From the first part of the Loop Trail I saw two ducklings not much more than a week of age. There wasnt any adult immediately with them, although there were several wood duck hens and a moulting male nearby. There were also 3 mallard hens but they were lounging on a log further away. I think these were wood duck ducklings based on size, smaller bill and head shape, wide dark forehead and a very pale yellow if not basically white on the light parts. That's pretty late for ducklings that Ive seen, especially not mallards!
Also here was a female hooded merganser but it looked really ratty that it could have been a juvenile one. Head did not have a 'plume' but the wing feathers when it flew did not show any hint of moult, consistant with juvenile ducks whom I believe do not moult their wing feathers like the adults do a bit later. The white in the secondaries of the wing feathers was more scant than what the book shows and from what I can remember which is not much as Ive never paid close attention.
Other cool things was a olive-sided flycatcher, a family of Bullock's oriole and over 8 eastern kingbirds making a racket.
