Yet again I got up early in the morning to try to drop in Competitive Two. When that didn’t happen, I decided to swing by Lost Lagoon for a quick photo stroll before the rain got in. I am very very glad I did! I suspect running into Frank Lin leading a walking tour made a bit of his magic rub off on me, and I saw some super special birds!
First, a small gang of Wood Ducks letting it all hang out in the breeze.
Second, goslings! It’s unusual for Canada Geese to have babbies so early in the year, but it does happen, and the little guys should be okay as long as there aren’t any cold snaps.
Next up, Common Mergansers. There have been several dozen hanging out on the lagoon lately — mostly “on”, napping and feeding out on the water, but there are always a few that choose solid land. This gal was with a small ground napping together on a log. I’ve never been this close to a Common Merganser before, and this is the best photo of them I’ve ever taken! They are super pretty, with their backswept hairdo and bright orange bill! Wish I could have gotten a good shot of the males, but I’m sure I’ll get my chance eventually.
I pointed it out this lone unfamiliar duck, diving and surfacing near the mergansers, and he said it was a Ruddy Duck, female. Neat! Not my first sighting, they visit Lost Lagoon every now and then, but definitely my best photo. Uh, still not great, I can do better. But we try!
Then one of the walking tour attendants and I got distracted by some towhees near the Rawlings Trail bridge. Eventually I realised I’d lost Frank’s group, but I didn’t really mind.
Now, I’d heard about this hummingbird behaviour, but never seen it in person. You might assume hummers just live on nectar / sugar water, but that’s not the case! When they need to (e.g.: when nesting, or migrating), they round out their diets with protein from bugs they either catch on the fly, or grab out of spiders’ webs.
She could also have been grabbing at the web itself. That stuff is great for nests! It’s light, strong and stretchy, and it’s just lying around unprotected. Well, except for spiders, and they don’t really count, do they?
And finally, just as I left the Lost Lagoon trail, I was unexpectedly accosted by this gorgeous male Varied Thrush. First he foraged pretty close to my feet for a bit, then flew up on a branch about eye level, letting me take a good look! Well, I hope I returned the favour adequately. These are my best Varied Thrush photos ever! A wonderful note on which to end my little jaunt.
