Adventures in Birding

#64, Tuscarora SP

It always surprises me how long it takes for the lake to thaw around here! We had a day of upper 70-degree weather last week and the lakes are still mostly frozen! They're starting to thaw around the edges, though.

I took a trip to Tuscarora State Park today and saw Common Mergansers, and #64, Hooded Mergansers. I got some really bad, blurry photos, but I could definitely tell they were male and female "Hoodies!" They're probably on their way north to their breeding grounds! According to my research, they typically show up within a few days of the ice melting!

Years ago, I thought birding in Winter wasn't a thing. I went for a walk in the woods on a nice Winter day, and I didn't see or hear a single bird. I assumed they didn't stick around in Winter. Not true at all! You just have to learn where to look!

I'm slowly getting better at identifying waterfowl! Ducks can look so similar! I like to keep my Sibley guide in my backpack so I can look at photos to tell them apart.