Pretty Birds Close to Home

It is overcast and rainy today, and by all accounts will stay so for the rest of the day. I was planning to go down to the Gilbert Water Ranch today, and also check out a potential Yellow-Headed Blackbird reservoir to which Robert Mortensen made me privy a few days ago. Alas, I already had one Saturday of photography frustrated by overcast weather, so I shall try to go tomorrow instead. In the mean time, I did get some photos at Grenada Park on the way home from work, and this seems as good a rainy day as any to share them.

The sun was out in full on Friday. Even though it's setting by 5:30pm now, I still had a very pleasant hour of photography around the duck ponds and bordering chaparral that Grenada Park provides. I counted over 24 Lovebirds enjoying the romantic sunset, a new personal record for the park.

These two Lovebirds were in the same tree. The first bird was perched near the trunk and sitting contentedly within the shade. The second bird was at the edge of the overhanging canopy, watching the sun's retreat. I know the lighting accounts for a lot of the difference in saturation and color here, but it's still interesting to note the difference of hue created by the lighting, and the bird's actual difference in pigmentation. Looking at the top bird, I'd be inclined to call it Rosy-Faced. Looking at the bottom bird, I'd be more inclined to say Peach-Faced...

The evening also afforded me an opportunity to photograph Yellow-Rumped Warblers that were, for once, not in palm trees. When I spotted this first subject in a distant creosote bush, I suspected my string of bad luck with the Yellow-Rumps was about to be cut.

And so it was that on 12/02/2012, around 4:15 pm, I took my first satisfactory pictures of the western Yellow-Rumped Warbler. The tell-tale yellow flanks and rump are visible, but I especially liked the buffy chin and slight grey on the back of the head. Even in their muted autumn/winter plumage, there's much to appreciate in the Yellow-Rumped Warbler.

It's a grand feeling to come away with some good warbler shots, and it gave me an excellent peace-of- mind as I headed down to the duck ponds. There are several  pairs of American Wigeon that hang around the Grenada ponds and provide a welcome relief to the scores of Mallards and Ring-Necks that patrol the shores. The green and white head of the male Wigeon is pretty fantastic, but I think my favorite attribute is harsh difference between the stippled coloration or the neck, and the rich brown of the breast. It's such a stark contrast. It seems like there are usually liminal areas on the birds, where the different colors mix and overlap a bit. Not so with the fashionable Wigeon!

It's not often I get to see the white belly, and unfortunately my shutter speed was too low to catch the Wigeon stretch in all its glory. But you can see the difference in the transition between the white belly and the brown breast, where the two colors overlap and mix quite nicely. The same goes for the green coloration on the Wigeon's head, as it slowly blends into the back of the bird's neck. The Ring-Necked Duck's ring is almost impossible to see, but the border between the neck and breast of the Wigeon is incredibly defined.

It's always a pleasure to see Pied-Billed Grebes. They remind me of little tug boats.

Ring-Necked Duck

This is my favorite Ring-Necked Duck, for a number of reasons. It's the first and only specimen I've seen since I got my camera, and I've been able to see this specific bird now on three separate occasions.
When I first saw this Duck, which I shall henceforth name and call Gary, he was oddly hanging out at the drainage pond at the barren Grenada Park in the middle of the summer in Phoenix. He was the only non-mallard on the pond, and I must confess I judged him to be a Lesser Scaup at the time.
Here is the picture taken in early August (All photos can be enlarged by clicking on them):

I judged Gary to be an immature Scaup because they and Ring-Necks are about the same size, have the same yellow eye, a similarly curvy bill, and the lightly-streaked gray on their flanks, as well as the dark brown breast. I was forgetting the dark on the back however, which Scaups do not have (their wings, sides, and backs are all the same sort of soft gray). Since Scaups are more common than Ring-Necks, I hedged my bet in that direction.
I appreciated Gary's bravery at the time, as I think temperatures hit 111 degrees that day and be he Scaup or Ring-Neck, he was way, way farther south than either species' normal summer range.
A week later I saw Gary again at Grenada Park. Again he was the only non-Mallard and non-Coot on the pond, and he looked much the same.
On October 2nd I returned to Grenada Park hoping to see some migratory ducks. While I was disappointed in that pursuit, I had a pleasant and surprising reunion with Gary.

It's Gary!

Here I had been thinking Gary was a Lesser Scaup, when in fact he was a mighty Ring-Necked Duck all along! He was/is still one of a kind at Grenada Park, and it was very cool to reunite with perhaps the bravest and toughest Ring-Necked Duck of them all.

Here Gary looks for deliverance from the company of these Mallards he's been forced to endure all Summer. 

Gary still doesn't have his fully mature plumage. The Ring-Necked Duck, like the Lesser Scaup, has an iridescent purple covering its head and neck, and a strong white vertical bar on the shoulder. However, the two white rings on the bill, one at the base and one before the black tip, are diagnostic. It's also interesting to note how low the tail hangs. It is horizontal with the duck's body and often rests atop the water. Many other ducks keep their tails more erect.

This is the blank, vacant stare of a duck who has had its brain scorched and friend for 3 months, in summer heat it was never meant to endure, in a pond that is maybe 50 by 100 feet, with only Mallards and a few obnoxious geese for company.

Here again, is the dark back that clearly disqualifies Gary from being a Lesser Scaup. 

As Gary recognizes me, his long lost and only true friend, he sheds a tear of joy.

His attention was quickly stolen away by a wobbly lady toting Wonder Bread, but I know Gary was glad he could show me that, while he was maybe confused about his summer migrating, his identity as a Ring-Necked Duck is firmly established.

Gary, King of Grenada Park, I shall return someday soon to see your purple crown. Hopefully you will find a queen, ring her neck with pearls, and have lots of Ring-Necked chicks.




Here are some more recent photos taken in November: