Apparently today is Bird Day (not to be confused with “National Bird Day” that happens on January 5th). It just so happens I was going to write a post about going to Eagle Lake and looking at birds a couple days ago anyway. This time of year I enjoy going up to Eagle Lake (Lassen County, California if you’re stopping by from out of the area) with a camera on sunny mornings. The fishing season closes at the end of February and doesn’t re-open until the end of May, so it’s generally very quiet and there are usually plenty of waterfowl and other bird life around.
One bird I don’t see as often as others on my visits is the spotted sandpiper. This one decided to come down and hunt for breakfast on a rock very close to where I was sitting. I got a kick out of watching it as it did its little tail bobbing and flitting around in search of a bite to eat.
They don’t call these little birds “teeter butts” for nothing, as can be seen in this clip I posted to my Facebook page the other day.
This trio of common goldeneye hens swam by in some nice warm light (it’s POSSIBLE the one with the white cheek patch is a female ring-necked duck, which looks fairly similar).
I saw this rather unique looking eared grebe swimming about. I’m not sure if it was only partially through the molt to breeding coloration, if it’s leucistic (lighter colored but not albino), or perhaps just a 1st winter youngster (apologies for the less than stellar image quality here – very deep crop as the bird never got very close).
This is from a different outing showing the color I’d expect and observed in several other eared grebes on the recent visit….
This pair of Lesser Scaup were hanging about. The drakes are quite pretty this time of year with a bit of iridescence in the right light, but the hen is pretty in her own right.
Finally, this beautiful common loon stopped by. They are a bit more vividly colored during the breeding season as well, and I’m fairly enamored with their somewhat haunting call which this one let out a few times as it swam by.
All in all, a beautiful morning out in the fresh air! Until next time, have a great day and enjoy nature!