With the temperature rising close to 70, I took the morning to check out the
Delaware Wildlife Area. The warm weather has opened all the water in the
large wetland ponds and the reservoir between the wildlife area and the
Delaware State Park. This area is generally a hot spot for waterfowl during the
March migration movements and today proved to be timely for visiting, especially
at Area A. The water was roiling with waterfowl with numbers likely over two
thousand birds. I found a comfortable spot and slowly scanned the water to
determine the species there and to estimate counts of each. The low species,
but the outright winner, was a beautiful male Eurasian Wigeon. With the clear
skies and sunlight, colors were very discernable which made him stand out with
his red rather than green head coloration. It also enabled me to positively
identify a Greater Scaup mixed in with the many Lesser Scaup as the head was
clearly green rather than purple.
The waterfowl on the lake and ponds included: Canada Goose, Wood Duck,
Gadwall, EURASIAN WIGEON, American Wigeon, American Black Duck, Mallard, Northern
Shoveler, Northern Pintail, Canvasback, Redhead, Ring-necked Duck, Lesser
Scaup, Greater Scaup, Hooded Merganser, Common Merganser, Red-breasted Merganser,
Ruddy Duck, Pied-billed Grebe and American Coot.
Some of the other species observed included: Great Blue Heron, Bald Eagle,
Northern Harrier, Red-shouldered Hawk, Red-tailed Hawk, American Kestrel,
Killdeer, Bonaparte’s Gull, Ring-billed Gull, , Herring Gull, Horned Lark, Brown
Creeper, Eastern Bluebird, Swamp Sparrow, Red-winged Blackbird and Common
Grackle [these last two are thrown in as a hopeful reminder that spring is coming
soon].
Then as I drove home I spotted Wild Turkeys off Rome Corners Road. The Tom’s
sense spring is in the air.
Charlie Bombaci
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