Ducks and Tweaks

A few days ago I wrote about my surprise at seeing a Canvasback at Sandy River Reservoir for my first duck of the year. Saturday morning, the largely white duck emerging from the dawn mist was a Long-tailed Duck. It could be one of the ones that were there last month, it could be a new arrival – but I was glad to see it.

Long-tailed Duck, Sandy River Reservoir,  4 Jan 2014

Until a few winters ago there were no Prince Edward County records of this species, and I wasn't counting on it for my big year. Several other ducks were around, though so were several duck hunters, one of whom flushed the Long-tailed Duck and the Ruddy Ducks he was with, but not before I could get a few pictures.

Not far away, the second surprise of the chilly morning was a Gray Catbird. While I would certainly count on seeing this species later in the year, to find one here in January is a treat, and represents one of the few January records for the county. Other new species from Friday and Saturday brought my year total for the county to 64 species. Although I am not a fan of the cold, the approaching weather system could well bring more ducks, gulls, and perhaps a Red-necked Grebe or something even more exciting our way during the coming week.

This is evident if you've visited the blog before today, but I decided to change its name. The original name was pretty bland, if descriptive. I also opened comments to anyone (you don't have to register to comment). More tweaks to the site will likely follow.