Return of the TC14EII - 17 Mar 2014

I picked up my Nikon TC14EII Teleconverter from Midwest Camera Repair today, and couldn't wait to give it a try.  This fly-by Great Blue Heron provided the perfect subject and didn't disappoint.  The bright cobalt blue patch in front of the eye indicates a bird in high breeding status.

This Red-breasted Merganser also drifted by and provided some nice portraits from just a few feet away.

I stopped by the Wyandotte Municipal Boat Ramp and found the Detroit River buried in ice flows. Very little open water was visible from this location south to Trenton.  Bishop Park was buried under ice flows from shore-to-shore. So I turned the scope on a flock of Canada Geese.

I drove up to John Dingell Park and found a pair of White-winged Scoters swimming in the middle of the open water just south of Mud Island.  The female/juvenile pair of birds were a bit of a distance even for digiscoping, but I tried anyway.

A scan of the river yielded three Horned Grebes far from shore, and a small raft of 5 Red-necked Grebes floating halfway between John Dingell Park and the Municipal Boat Ramp.

One Horned Grebe came close enough for some digiscoping in the late afternoon sun.

I even had a Red-breasted Merganser float by for a digiscoped pic or two.

John D. Dingell Park, Wayne, Michigan, US
Mar 17, 2014 3:15 PM - 4:00 PM
Protocol: Stationary
Checklist Comments:     Ice flows have choked the Detroit River from just north of the Wyandotte Municipal Boat Ramp south to Trenton; clear skies, cold; temps in the 20's; Only open water is in front of John Dingell Park; more photos and story at: http://jerryjourdan.blogspot.com/2014/03/return-of-tc14eii-17-mar-2014.html
19 species

Canada Goose (Branta canadensis)  36
Mute Swan (Cygnus olor)  6
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos)  24
American Black Duck (Anas rubripes)  2
Greater Scaup (Aythya marila)  2
White-winged Scoter (Melanitta deglandi)  2     female/juvenile; <a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-uriqCM3UoW4/UyeSJUNH88I/AAAAAAAAN8A/_Q04N8sNRIY/s1600/DSC_6749WhitewingedScoter.jpg"><img src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-uriqCM3UoW4/UyeSJUNH88I/AAAAAAAAN8A/_Q04N8sNRIY/s1600/DSC_6749WhitewingedScoter.jpg" /></a>
Bufflehead (Bucephala albeola)  2
Common Goldeneye (Bucephala clangula)  4
Hooded Merganser (Lophodytes cucullatus)  5
Common Merganser (Mergus merganser)  4
Red-breasted Merganser (Mergus serrator)  6
Ruddy Duck (Oxyura jamaicensis)  8
Horned Grebe (Podiceps auritus)  3     All three in basic plumage; one came close enough to get nice digiscoped images; <a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-VELTJfeQMUY/UyeSZUV_iYI/AAAAAAAAN8g/WPoHh3dJKA8/s1600/DSC_7015HornedGrebe.jpg"><img src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-VELTJfeQMUY/UyeSZUV_iYI/AAAAAAAAN8g/WPoHh3dJKA8/s1600/DSC_7015HornedGrebe.jpg" /></a>
Red-necked Grebe (Podiceps grisegena)  5     Five birds in a tight raft floating / sleeping near the buoy between John Dingell Park and Wyandotte Municipal Boat Ramp farther south; scope distance, but easily identifiable by white chin strap; birds were larger than nearby Ruddy Ducks, and Mallards; One woke up long enough to verify ID (large yellow bill; long neck; gray body).
Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon) (Columba livia (Feral Pigeon))  2
American Coot (Red-shielded) (Fulica americana (Red-shielded))  1
Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis)  6
Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias)  1
Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus)  2

View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S17484731

This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (https://ebird.org/home)