After a shopping trip to Lee Valley recently, I sneaked in a half-hour visit with the ducks and swans at LaSalle Marina in Burlington. Lots of waterfowl congregate at this spot in the winter, perhaps because the over-wintering Trumpeter Swans are often fed grain. I was standing for most of the time in one spot watching the hundreds of Mallards and picking out the odd Bufflehead, Black Ducks, Horned Grebe, and Ruddy Duck amongst them. Then another showy duck caught my eye and I watched as it cruised along in front of me, heading past towards the docks.
Canvasback or Redhead ?
My duck spent some time preening, giving me time to look closely at it.
My first impression was that it was a Canvasback, although it wasn’t in a flock and it wasn’t diving. Then I began to doubt myself as the bill didn’t look as ski-jumpy as I expected. So I wasn’t totally convinced till I went home and did some comparisons of the two types of birds.
One thing I noticed is that the Redhead’s bill is a different colour and shape than the one on the Canvasback I saw today. Another thing is that the Canvasback had a red eye, not a yellow or golden one like the Redhead.
The Canvasback also has white sides not grey ones.
This Canvasback duck was close in size to the nearby Mallards.
It’s always nice to get a close up view of any ducks, even Mallards, but this quick look at a Canvasback made a good day an even better one!
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Gorgeous shots of Canvasbacks…and the Redhead.
You are terrific at catching moments. I don’t know how you do it.
John
Thanks! I liked your small (safe) rat–much cuter than the only common ones in my city!