Making Local History with a Hoodie in 'da Hood

We have a small "neighborhood" pond near my home. It's called Manila Creek Pond and it is used as one of many urban fisheries managed by the Division of Wildlife Resources. Fish-eating birds such as diving ducks, loons, herons, cormorants, and osprey are drawn to the pond because it is stocked with trout...and gold fish that residents decide they don't want to keep around the house. Right now the ducks are moving into and through Utah so I've stopped by the little pond every couple of days to see if it has attracted a migrating duck or other water bird.

I was happy to see a Hooded Merganser on the neighborhood pond on November 13th. Birders affectionately refer to these ducks as "hoodies".  They are a "diving" duck. They go down and swim under water to catch their prey, usually small fish. "Dabbling" ducks, like the mallards you see on nearly every pond, simply stick their head under water, or dabble, to gather plants and seeds from shallow water. I reported my hoodie sighting online with Cornell University's eBird program. I checked the eBird history of species reported on this pond and discovered that this was the first one to be reported. I guess we made a little birding history since it was the first record of a "Hoodie in 'da hood". Hoodies generally prefer sheltered ponds and bays, water that is surrounded by wooded hiding places. Our local pond is void of such hiding places. However, birds show up in unexpected places during migration when they are simply looking for a temporary place to rest and some food for refueling.

The adult male hoodies are very easily identified when seen in their breeding plumage and you'll see why with some images at the end of this post. Telling the difference between adult and juvenile females, however, is a bit of a challenge. Below is an image of the duck when I first located it last week. I've seen it several days since, including this evening on my way home from work. Based on some expert opinion I believe it is a juvenile female, but I'm not completely confident since I rarely see juveniles for this species.

Hooded Merganser on Manila Creek Pond in Pleasant Grove, UT

Adult Male and Female Hooded Merganser
South Jordan, UT

The image to the right shows the unique breeding plumage for an adult male or drake Hooded Merganser. Even when the male returns to a mostly brown, non-breeding plumage during summer months it still shows a nice yellow iris. Young males also show the yellow iris. An adult female is in the background of the image to the right. By comparing this known female with the image above I think you can see the adult female has a longer hood, try to imagine the length if its hood was up, and some white lines in the tucked flight feathers near the rear. The bird pictured above has a smaller hood and is lacking the wing markings of the adult female. The eye color doesn't really provide much of a clue between adult and juvenile females. Both have an iris color that appears dark brown/red.

The unique hood on the male, by the way, can be raised and flared just as you see in the image to the left. Males display their full hood during courtship and sometimes when alarmed.

Keep your eyes open as you pass by your local watering holes. Water foul are on the move and could be coming to a neighborhood near you.

Birds in Flight at Lee Kay Ponds

I left my office for lunch Thursday to meet up with Rich Young for a little photography advice and practice. Rich has been very generous with teaching me about photography and the Nikon equipment we use. We spent a little time driving around the area of Lee Kay Ponds near Salt Lake City, Utah. It's a local birding hot spot that is just minutes from my office. The road that gives access to the area is on the north side of the ponds. With the sun being so far south this time of the year it can be difficult to clearly see the back lit birds. I was primarily interested in testing some photography techniques with Rich's assistance so we spent time looking west and northward for subjects to capture in better lighting. The first opportunity was when Rich noticed what looked like the white rump patch of a Northern Harrier on a bird flying at a considerable distance from us. It was coursing low to the ground so it did seem harrier-like, but a few seconds of watching the flight style gave the impression of a buteo (hawk) rather than a harrier. It turned out to be my first Rough-legged Hawk of the season, a welcomed visitor from Alaska or northern Canada. The dark terminal band in the wings were indicative of an adult bird and the buff coloring in the under wing coverts and the broad dark band at the end of the tail indicated female.

Adult Female Rough-legged Hawk Flying Near Lee Kay Ponds in Salt Lake City, UT

Adult Female Rough-legged Hawk Flying Near Lee Kay Ponds in Salt Lake City, UT

The county dump is essentially across the road and to the north of Lee Kay Ponds. The dump and the ponds are a magnetic draw for gulls. Hundreds were present during our brief stop, but we did not spend time noticing more than California, Ring-billed, and Herring Gulls. Common Ravens were playing above and along the hillside formed by the landfill. They grappled at times and dive bombed one another at other times.

Common Ravens Near Lee Kay Ponds in Salt Lake City, UT

Common Ravens Grappling Mid-air Near Lee Kay Ponds in Salt Lake City, UT

Common Ravens Coming Out of a Mid-air Tussle Near Lee Kay Ponds in Salt Lake City, UT

We saw two more hawks before I had to head back to the office for meetings. The first was an intermediate (aka rufous) morph Western Red-tailed Hawk and the other was a light morph Western Red-tailed Hawk.

Adult Intermediate-morph Western Red-tailed Hawk Near Leek Kay Ponds in Salt Lake City, UT

Adult Light-morph Western Red-tailed Hawk Near Lee Kay Ponds in Salt Lake City, UT

Adult Light-morph Western Red-tailed Hawk Near Lee Kay Ponds in Salt Lake City, UT

I noticed a fair number of ducks on the ponds and saw a Prairie Falcon on the way back to work. I had just enough action with that quick trip to cause me to want to go back after work.

The sun was getting low and light was becoming a challenge for photography when I returned after work, but I gave it my best shot(s) and came up with the following images by positioning myself to make the most of the light from the setting sun. I'll start with a focus on Common Goldeneyes.

Female Common Goldeneye at Lee Kay Ponds Salt Lake City, UT

Okay. So these next ducks aren't flying yet, but they will be in the second image below. I like the first image because you can see variations of male Common Goldeneyes positioned side by side. I'll call them the Three Amigos. The closest one is a young male (brown head with white facial patch). The other two are adult males with one showing a green sheen and the other showing a blue sheen from the iridescent head feathers. Females surround them along with a first-winter male Bufflehead to the right of the image and Gadwalls above the Three Amigos.

Adult Female and Male Common Goldeneyes with One Young Male (brown head with white patch as base of bill), Two Gadwalls, and a First-Winter Male Bufflehead on Lee Kay Ponds in Salt Lake City, UT

I wished I could fly when I was a kid and I'm still in awe every time I see birds take flight, soar, and glide through the air, over water, fields, and along mountains and hillsides.

Adult Female and Male Common Goldeneyes with One Young Male (brown head with white patch as base of bill) and a First-Winter Male Bufflehead Flying Over Lee Kay Ponds in Salt Lake City, UT

Next came the Buffleheads. The first image shows an adult male in the lead, a female in the middle, and a first-winter male as the caboose. The young males show what looks more like a white horn on the sides of their heads where adult females show more of a "spot". Could this be a new family of Buffleheads?

Adult Male, Female, and Young Male Buffleheads Flying Over Lee Kay Ponds in Salt Lake City, UT

One Adult and Three First-Winter Male Buffleheads Flying Over Lee Kay Ponds in Salt Lake City, UT

Adult Male Bufflehead Flying Over Lee Kay Ponds in Salt Lake City, UT

First-Winter Male Bufflehead Flying Over Lee Kay Ponds in Salt Lake City, UT

First-Winter Male Bufflehead Flying Over Lee Kay Ponds in Salt Lake City, UT

First-Winter Male Bufflehead Flying Over Lee Kay Ponds in Salt Lake City, UT

Hooded Mergansers don't like to be photographed so they are quite a challenge. I wish the lighting would have been better, but these are still handsome birds to observe. It's not in line with the theme of birds in flight, but I'm including this image to give a feel for how much the males can change the shape of their hood. Here he is before taking flight...

Adult Male Hooded Merganser on Lee Kay Ponds in Salt Lake City, UT

and after taking flight...

Male Hooded Merganser Taking Flight From Lee Kay Ponds in Salt Lake City, UT

This next image is from a previous encounter with Hooded Mergansers and includes a male and a female adult for comparison.

Adult Male and Female Hooded Merganser at Mulligan's Golf Course in Salt Lake City, UT

I'm going to return to Lee Kay Ponds in the coming days and weeks and hope for some better lighting when the ducks take flight.

Spring Weekends in Utah County

I love spring in Utah. The cold releases its grip and the cycle of life liberally expresses itself as both plants and animals, especially the birds, reappear in beautiful colors. The desert blooms and suburban areas burst with all sorts of colors as the trees blossom with white, pink, yellow and purple flowers. Flocks of starlings disappear and are replaced by flocks of gulls, pelicans, and ibises as they migrate to their annual breeding grounds.

As I was walking home from church this afternoon I saw something that others passed without notice. It was a very common bird, but it was in its spring plumage and surrounded by beautiful white pear blossoms as it perched at eye level in my next-door neighbors yard.

American Robin in Pleasant Grove, UT (Photo by Jeff Cooper)

As I was driving home from work on Friday is decided to pass through an agricultural field outside the small town of Lehi to see what migrant birds might be taking advantage of the watered fields. I pulled over at one point and spent some time watching and photographing the birds that were temporarily stopping over. I saw some Franklin's Gulls and White-faced Ibises flying over and foraging in a farmer's field.

I decided to spend some time photographing the gulls in flight. White and black birds are always tough when it comes to getting the proper exposure. All my images are captured in jpeg files rather than raw so if I mess up in the field there is very little fixing that can be done afterward. Less exposure is needed for the whites so details don't get washed while more exposure is needed for the darks in order to draw out the details. The Franklin's Gulls flew by and over me often enough that I was able to practice getting the right distance, exposure, and timing.

Franklin's Gull in Lehi, UT

Franklin's Gull in Lehi, UT

Franklin's Gull in Lehi, UT

Franklin's Gull in Lehi, UT

Franklin's Gull in Lehi, UT

Franklin's Gull in Lehi, UT

Franklin's Gull in Lehi, UT

Franklin's Gull in Lehi, UT

Franklin's Gull in Lehi, UT

This Solitary Sandpiper was found in an over-watered corner of a farmer's field where I stopped to photograph the gulls.

My wife and I took a short drive up American Fork Canyon on a previous weekend and stopped at Tibble Fork Reservoir to enjoy the awesomeness of our local mountains surrounding a small reservoir. A lone White-faced Ibis was wading along the edge of the reservoir. It's an unlikely location for this bird, but it was probably resting from a migratory flight across the mountain range.

White-faced Ibis on Tibble Fork Reservoir Utah County, UT

Yesterday, on my way to join the Utah County Birders for a local field trip, I happened to see Snowy Egrets and a very unexpected female Hooded Merganser hunting for fish in a tiny pond. I parked my truck on the side of the road and managed to move from the driver seat to the passenger seat without exiting the truck and spooking them. I lowered the window and placed a bean bag across the door so I could stabilize my camera lens to avoid camera shake.

I first focused on the Hooded Merganser as a matter of documenting a duck that is uncommon in Utah during the winter months and really rare for the month of May. Fortunately for me, there was a female Common Merganser on the pond as well and it provided an excellent frame of reference for determining size. I was able to see the size difference between the two. The Hooded Merganser's length is about 18 inches and the Common is about 25 inches.

The first image (to the right) was captured to show

the head profile and wing pattern. The female Hooded Merganser's hairdo is more rounded when compared to a Red-breasted's hairdo which is more  wispy or somewhat jagged and uneven. The bill of both Hooded and Red-breasted is thinner that what you see with Common Merganser's. However, the bill of a Red-breasted is reddish orange while the Hooded's is mostly dark with some yellow, especially on the lower mandible.

You can see the smooth, rounded hairdo in the first two images. This last image shows how the hairdo can be altered when wet. The merganser had just come up from a dive before I captured this image. She is showing a look here that is more like a Red-breasted or Common Merganser. Sometimes identifying similar birds requires multiple views from various angles. That's why a single photo of a bird can sometimes make identification difficult for even experienced birders.

Another wonderful experience came from watching a more common spring bird that can also present a challenge for photographers because it is almost all white. This series of photos shows a Snowy Egret hunting, locating, chasing, and swallowing a fish. The faint brown lines you see in some images are severely out of focus phragmite stems that were between me and the bird.

Success Below!

Adjusting the fish so it will be swallowed head first so it goes down easily and with the pokes of the sharp fins.

A single gulp and down it goes!

Fluffing after a good meal then chilling after a good meal.

To keep this post from getting too long I'll skip the rare Semi-palmated Sandpiper, uncommon Soras, and unique Burrowing Owls observed during the Saturday morning field trip and jump to several first-of-year birds I discovered after I parted with the field trip group.

The first was a Lark Sparrow, one of my favorite sparrow because of its unique facial patterns. I came across this one as I was making my way down a dirt road at the base of Lake Mountain in Saratoga Springs. The bird was preening when I first pulled my truck next to it. I know, it is an odd moment, but this is how nature works sometimes. This is required to keep its lovely appearance.

A very unexpected bird sighting Saturday was a matter of timing. I saw a large crow-like bird out of the corner of my eye as it was gliding down a hill. A Raven would have been more likely where I was so I decided to put the binoculars on the bird since it was definitely not a Raven. I got the binoculars on it just in time to see the beautiful iridescent green on the upper side as it tilted and then landed on the side of a power pole. I knew immediately it was a Lewis's Woodpecker despite it being way out of place in terms of habitat and time of year. I jumped into my truck to try to get close enough for a photo to document the sighting. It flew quickly to a lone tree even farther away and on the other side of a barbed wire fence posted with "No Trespassing". It was back-lit and essentially a black spot with a large sunny backdrop. I turned up the exposure compensation and released the shutter a few times before it flew out of sight for good. It's low quality, but by cropping and lightening the image it becomes an identifiable bird posed near a Western Meadowlark.

This Grasshopper Sparrow flushed from a ditch and up onto some rabbit brush as I was slowly making my way down a dirt road.

 I can't wait for spring migration to deliver more uniquely colored birds to Utah County and other locales I will visit during the month of May.