Wyandotte Waterfowling - 24 Feb 2015

The Wyandotte Boat Launch was surprisingly productive this afternoon. I stopped by after work and parked along the fence at the end of the dock and spent about an hour photographing a wide array of ducks on the Detroit River. The highlight was this male Red-breasted Merganser that came close to the fence. It was overcast and windy, and brutally cold, but not horribly uncomfortable inside the car.

Redhead and Canvasback were the first subjects. The Canvasback tended to bully the Redheads, as did the Mallard.

Quite a few Red-breasted Mergansers were out on the river, but nowhere near shore. So I was quite happy when this lovely male drifted by and allowed some nice closeups from inside the car. I did wait until he dove before jumping out and getting photos next to the fence.

Greater Scaup were also swimming by, but were more shy. Only after things really settled down did they drift close enough for some photos.

A juvenile male Red-breasted Merganser swam in and provided some nice portraits, as well. Note the dark patches around the eyes. This helps to distinguish them from females of both merganser species.

A few Common Mergansers made an appearance near the middle of the river, but this male was close enough to photograph.

Once things slowed down enough I took a quick drive to nearby Bishop Park and found several Canvasback floating by next to the dock. I was able to pop over the top of the railing and grab a few pics before they swam off.

Another scaup pair were also swimming by the dock and didn't notice me overhead until the last moment. 

Wyandotte Boat Launch, Wayne, Michigan, US
Feb 24, 2015 3:00 PM - 3:30 PM
Protocol: Stationary
7 species

Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos)  2
Canvasback (Aythya valisineria)  4
Redhead (Aythya americana)  2
Greater Scaup (Aythya marila)  6
Lesser Scaup (Aythya affinis)  2
Common Merganser (Mergus merganser)  6
Red-breasted Merganser (Mergus serrator)  12

View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S101966637

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