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/

Jenny Pond and an Iceland Gull

Gadwall Taking Off

Since we have had a spell of cold weather and the ponds around here are starting to get ice, I decided to visit Jenney Pond in Plymouth, Massachusetts.  The reason for that is that the back side of the pond freezes and where the stream runs into the pond and leaves at the other end.  It causes the waterfowl to congregate closer and makes them easier to photograph.

There was enough action to make for some nice photographs with ducks flying in, flying out, plus flapping after bathing.  In fact, if the weather continues to stay cold.  This usually increases the concentration of waterfowl and species that are available in the area.  In fact, I am planning to take my Meetup group NANPA Photographers of Eastern Massachusetts, for a photo shoot.

Pair of Gadwalls

Gadwall Landing

Mallard Pair Together

Mallard Landing

After photographing at Jenney Pond.  We went down to the harbor, to the boat launching ramp which is behind East Bay Grill and was able to photograph the Iceland Gull that has been returning for many years.  We had to search all the gulls until we found the one that had white feathers at the tip of its wings.

Iceland Gull

Despite starting off in the high teens, with no wind and warming up to the 40s.  It was a beautiful day to be outside.

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A Great Morning in Plymouth

Red-shouldered Hawk

Monday morning I spent in Plymouth, Massachusetts, and had a very productive morning.  We started out at Jenney Pond.  First, we were looking for the wood duck which we could not find.  Utilizing crack corn we were able to bring most of the mallards in and I was able to get some flight shots, utilizing my 70-200 mm lens with it 2X converter.  Suddenly all of ducks took off and flew.  Why?  Looking up, we saw a hawk flying overhead, which then landed in a nearby tree.  We slowly approached the hawk, and utilizing my 500 mm lens with a 1.4 converter on it, we were able to get many pictures of the red-shouldered hawk.  After the hawk flew off, a bread-breasted merganser swam by in the river and I was able to capture it with my camera.

Next, we traveled down to two Plymouth Harbor, to the parking lot behind The East Side Grille, where we found in the small area of open water, common eiders, feeding.  The eiders were catching clams and crabs.  Suddenly, herring gulls decided that they wanted the choice morsels that the eiders were catching and started attacking the eiders.  Most of the time, the eiders dove, to get away and was able to eat the prey.  One time however, the gull caused the eider to drop the food under the water, with the gull dove and got the clam and so it got to enjoy the food.

On the bridge leading to the jetty there was a third year great black-backed gull.

The last stop was Cordage Park, where the main attraction was mallards.  And again, utilizing crack corn were able to get a number of flight pictures.

I took the pictures from the day and turned it into a video slideshow which can be seen at: https://www.dropbox.com/s/6mln38k1pop7g8p/ProShow%20Slideshow.avi?dl=0

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A Morning in Plymouth, Massachusetts

Drake Mallard After Bathing

The weather has been still cold, but today the weather was into the low 30s.  I traveled out to Plymouth and went initially to Cordage Park, because the other day, my son was out there and told me that there was in the pond, an area of open water with decent birds.  There was a small area of open water filled with mallards and mainly ring-billed gulls along with some hen bufflehead's, drake and hen ring-necked ducks, along with a pair of mute swans.

Ring-billed Gull Coming in for Landing

Ring-billed Gull Various Years

Ring-billed Gull

Ring-billed Gull Bathing

"two guys and a gal" Ringed-Necked Ducks

Drake ringed-Necked Duck With Two Hen Bufflehead

I needed to step into the snow up to almost my knees to get close to the fence so I could photograph the birds.  When the mallards first saw you approaching the fence, the mallards all swam toward you expecting to be fed.

Mallards looking for food

After finishing photographing the avian life at Cordage Park, I then drove down and to the big parking lot at Plymouth Harbor.  All this winter, every time I've been traveling down to this area.  I have been looking for the Iceland gull, which returns every year.  I have been shut out until today when I was able to capture the Iceland gull in flight.

Iceland Gull in Flight

The tide was way up and if the harbor wasn't frozen and if there was waves, we would've been flooded.  The reason for this is that today is a new Moon, plus the new Moon is a super-moon leading to astronomically high tides.

Because of all the snow we had, when I went to Jenny Pond.  It was hard getting close to where it was easy to photograph the ducks in the pond because of the height of the drips which were up to my waist.  Hopefully, as they start clearing the snow way will be the easier to photograph the ducks in the open area of Jenney Pond.

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Ring Billed Gull Feeding Activity

Ring-billed gull feeding activity

Watching the way that birds capture food is always interesting. While at Plymouth harbor, since the tide was going out I watched a ring-build gull jumping into the shallow water and also ducking its head it under the water trying to capture food. After a while it must've gotten enough to eat because it walked out of the water and went to rest on the shore.

Ring-billed gull feeding activity

Ring-billed gull feeding activity

Ring-billed gull feeding activity

Ring-billed gull feeding activity

Ring-billed gull feeding activity

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Double-crested Cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus)

Double-crested Cormorant with Nuptial Crests

The Double-crested Cormorant are returning to our area and are starting to display their breeding plumage.  Nuptial crests, which gives the species its name, are either white, black or mixture of the two.  This Cormorant, which was sitting on a post near the Marina in Plymouth harbor demonstrated its crests (mainly black with a touch of white) well due to the the wind, which was blowing.

Double-crested Cormorant

Eastern Screech Owl and Canvasback Ducks

Eastern Screech Owl-Red Phase

It is Thursday and another day birding with Doug. Our plans today initially was to travel to Plymouth in order hopefully to see and photograph the Canvasback duck that has been seen in Plymouth harbor. I have seen canvasback ducks in the past, but the last time I had photographs one of them was over 30 years ago. However, a plans got changed when last night nice lady, Linda, who had met a week or so ago while I was photographing at Jenney pond in Plymouth and who is a birder, called me and told me a boat a red-faced screech owl at Sagamore Beach. It was at a house that used to live in and was visiting and found that at the end of the driveway and she hoped I could have a chance to go down and see and photograph it. So, rather than starting out in Plymouth we travel down to Sagamore Beach to the location and then a hole in a tree right at the side of the driveway and after me doing a screech owl call, the screech owl appeared in the whole and watched us and I was able to get some nice photographs of it.

Eastern Screech Owl-Red Phase

We then traveled to visit the Cape Cod Canal, with a tide was extremely high and mainly the usual birds were present but no alcids were there. We finally ended up at Plymouth harbor and found the canvasback's out on the water and I was able to take some photographs, not the best because of the distance, but it does show both the male and female canvasback flapping their wings.

Canvasback-male

Canvasback-female

Right now, at home we are preparing for the blizzard that is coming and hopefully we will not lose power, but we have enough food to sustain us until it's all over.

Iceland Gull, Again

First Cycle Iceland Gull

I stopped at Plymouth harbor the other day, hoping to photograph the Iceland Gull again. I located the first cycle Iceland gull sitting on a post at the edge of the parking lot, eating. I got set up and ready to photograph the gull, when it dropped what it was eating onto the ice in the harbor below. It flew down into the harbor, and I was able to capture some photographs of it on the ice. Looking with my binocular's over the other gulls, I saw a gull with bright red feet and a ringed bill, it had a light gray mantle and no black on the edge of its wings. I obtained some photographs and then went back to the car to get out my bird book for identification purposes, but could not identify what gull this was. Because of where it was located on the railing which was out over the water it was very hard to get other photographs of it although I did move around and after the gull that was on its right flew away I did get some side view pictures. When the gull I was viewing flew away, viewing it showed that it definitely was a white winged gull. Finally when I arrived home and viewed the picture on the computer and using my Stokes Field Guide to the Birds of North America and the Peterson Reference Guide "Gulls of the Americas" I came to realize that it was a second to third cycle Iceland Gull. I then went back and looked at my previous photograph that it taken earlier this month of the gull and realized it was the same gull. I wonder if the bright red legs were caused by the cold weather that we have had recently?

Red Feet

Second to Third Cycle Iceland Gull

Same gull picture taken earlier in the month in bright sun, its legs are not as red