Plymouth, Massachusetts Bird Photography

Hooded Merganser and Gadwall

It was a beautiful morning and the kids and I return to Plymouth first starting at Jenney Pond.  As usual, most of the pond was iced but there was enough open water and the usual species of ducks were present.  Most of the fun were watching the interaction between ducks.  drake bufflehead chasing drake bufflehead or hen bufflehead listening to hooting call of the drake hooded mergansers and watching the hooded mergansers puff out their throats and open the mouth and call.

Drake Bufflehead Being Chased by Another Drake Bufflehead

Drake Bufflehead Being Chased by Another Drake Bufflehead

Drake Bufflehead Flapping

Drake Bufflehead chasing a hen

Hooded Mergansers Calling

You Can Look Right down the Throat of This Hooded Merganser

At Jenney's Pond, normally, a lot of people of feeding the ducks bread, which we know is not good nourishment for him.  So when we come we always bring some crack corn so at least it will get some better food plus it makes for some interesting the photos as the birds fly in and as they all gather around to eat.  The drake mallards were frisky today and fighting with one another.

Incoming Mallard

Mallard Fight

The pair of swans left and then came flying back in given us another opportunity for some bird in flight shots.

Mute Swans Landing

I finished my shooting at the harbor where I was able to capture the Icelandic gull by itself, and in flight.

Icelandic Gull

Icelandic Gull

My Meetup group NANPA Meetup group of Eastern Massachusetts will be photographing the waterfowl at Jenney's Pond on February 14 starting at 7 AM.  Any of my readers is welcome to join by signing up on the Meetup page http://www.meetup.com/NANPA-Nature-Photography-Group_of_Eastern-Massachusetts/

Westport Harbor

Mute swan sitting on the ice

Sunday, after the snow stopped and the sun came out.  We traveled down to Westport Harbor hopefully to to do some photographing of ducks and gulls.  When we arrived, the sky was still overcast.  The tide was outgoing and there was still a lot of ice surrounding the docks.  We were able to see a number of different species of ducks, plus the gulls.  What I did was set the camera on manual, set my speed and aperture and went to auto ISO so I could obtain the correct exposure.

Greater black-back gulls be an opportunistic feeder were trying to get into the bait barrels on the dock to get a free meal.  Herring gulls, however, found snails and scallops to feed on.

Greater black-backed gull getting a skate from the bait bucket

Herring gull with a snail

Herring gull flying with a scallop in its beak

A Drake Bufflehead flew by and I was happy to capture one sharp image out of my series.  For tiny bird, they fly extremely fast.  We identified and photographed at the harbor and across on the other side near the Back Eddy and identified many species including Canada geese, common eiders, Bullhead, red-breasted merganser, hooded merganser, American Widgeon, scaup, common goldeneye and a horned Grebe.

Drake Bufflehead in flight

American Widgeon, feeding

and Bufflehead

Drake hooded merganser and hen red-breasted merganser

Canada goose landing over a scaup

Drake red breasted merganser

If the cold weather keeps up and all the ponds and habits freeze we should see more concentrations of ducks and other birds at locations that have open water, where there is food available.

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Jenney Pond Revisited

Wood Duck

Besides the greatest scaup that I mentioned in my last blog, my last visit to Jenney Pond had the Wood Duck put on a show.  The wood duck has been present for over a month now and has been hanging around with the mallards.  At this visit, the wood duck was very visible swimming around and also walking on the ice.

Wood Duck

Wood Duck

Another surprise was a juvenile Black-crowned Night-Heron that was sitting on a branch just above the water, sometimes looking around and at other times talking its head in its wing to rest.  From December through March, there is usually one to two Black-crowned Night-Heron present in Plymouth County.

Black-crowned Night-Heron

Black-crowned Night-Heron

Also present were Bufflehead, a male, female, and I believe a first-year male.

Bufflehead

The usual gadwall, hooded merganser, American coot, plus the usual mallards, swans and Canada geese.

Gadwall

Drake Hooded Merganser

hen Hooded Merganser

American Coot - look at its long legs

Mallard Preening

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Waterfowl at Jenney Pond

Mute Swan I See You

We have continued to have below freezing days.  One advantage that this has as it causes ponds and lakes to freeze over.  However, if there is moving water from a stream or river, it will keep a portion of those ponds and lakes open.  This open water will cause waterfowl and other birds to congregate in these areas and if these areas are near the shoreline.  It allows for closer approach to the birds for better photography.

Sunday, I travel down to Jenney Pond in Plymouth, Massachusetts, where most of the birds congregate on the far shore of the pond, except for the mallards.  Now most of the pond is frozen over, except with a stream comes running through and traveling down to the ocean.  The birds were swimming around, feeding flapping wings and basically ignoring me.

Hooded Merganser Drake Flapping

Gadwall and a Hooded Merganser

Hen and Drake, Gadwall

Hen and Drake Hooded Merganser

American Coot

Ring-Billed Gull Trying to Take off and Slid off the Ice into the Water

So if you have a pond or a lake near you, take a trip and see what you can photograph.

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Thursdays Ducks

Male Common Eider swimming in the Cape Cod Canal

Thursday, besides obtaining the photographs of the screech owl and the canvasback's, I did obtained photographs of some more of our common species. After we've saw the screech owl we traveled down to the Cape Cod Canal, which at high tide was higher than I have ever seen it due to astronomical conditions and looking toward what will occurred during the upcoming blizzard and continuing astronomical high tides and Gail Ted hurricane force winds, I worry about beach erosion and the people who live along the coast. All that aside,

Including the canal and Jenney Pond, I obtained some nice photographs of common eiders, red-breasted mergansers, gadwalls, hooded mergansers, common goldeneye and ring-neck ducks.

Female Common Goldeneye, has been present at Jenney Pond for a number of weeks

Pair of Hooded Mergansers and a pair of Gadwalls illustrating size differences in the ducks

Male Gadwall walking on the ice at Jenney Pond

Male Red-Breasted Merganser which has been hanging out on Jenney Pond also for a number weeks. The reason it's breast seem so large is its crop is filled with a very large perch.

Male Ring-necked Duck at Jenney Pond

Juvenile Common Eider swimming in the Cape Cod Canal

Female Red-breasted Merganser swimming in the Cape Cod Canal