Common Merganser family

Yesterday afternoon, 11 June 2017, I decided to join a few friends for a walk in Weaselhead. No rain was forecast, so I thought I had better make the most of it. We were hoping to see the three species of Hummingbird, but the Rufous stayed hidden. We only had a very distant look at a Ruby-throated Hummingbird and a very fleeting look at a tiny Calliope Hummingbird, when it flew past us like a huge bumblebee, and disappeared from sight. Still good to see them,, though.

The Merganser family in this photo was such a delight to see. Mom had just these four babies and they were so cute. We also saw another Merganser family with eight ducklings. I have added our leaders' list of species seen, in a comment box below.

We were pleased to see a pair of Eastern Phoebes in their usual place. One of the birds had a piece of fishing line in its beak - photo posted this morning. It is such a distant photo, so the quality is poor, making it impossible to enlarge and be able to tell if it was caught or just being carried to perhaps add to their nest. The bird kept flying around and the fishing line stayed in place. I do hope the the nylon line had not got tangled around the bird somehow. Fishermen need to be far more careful and not discard any unwanted line - wildlife pays the price! Simple enough - just take it home with you!

As well as birds, we saw quite a few species of wildflower. There were so many beautiful wild Roses in bloom.

"Common Mergansers are streamlined ducks that float gracefully down small rivers or shallow shorelines. The males are striking with clean white bodies, dark green heads, and a slender, serrated red bill. The elegant gray-bodied females have rich, cinnamon heads with a short crest. In summer, look for them leading ducklings from eddy to eddy along streams or standing on a flat rock in the middle of the current. These large ducks nest in hollow trees; in winter they form flocks on larger bodies of water." From AllAboutBirds.

www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Common_Merganser/id