First stop was Lake Crabtree from the Dam on the East side of the lake which was full of ducks and gulls but no dice on the Red-necked Grebes.
These Lesser Scaup must have had a rough night out on the town. Even though it was early morning, they were all sleeping it off.
Except this guy, notice the more peaked head than my earlier pics of the Greater Scaup. You cannot go by the color of the head as you can see the green sheen here despite this being a Lesser Scaup which is normally purple.
I estimated about 200 Lesser Scaup.
Northern Flicker - I will get a better picture but must make progress. Notice the diagnostic white rump.
Next I headed to Prairie Ridge Ecostation to try for the Bittern that has been reported there over the past several months. He/she took a little break but is back.
Double dip. I searched every inch of that little pond short of diving into it.
There was another couple Scaup though!
The weather was amazing and these Bluebirds were busy getting the nest ready.
Let's just hope this Brown Headed Cowbird does not parasitize the Bluebird nest. Not sure if the can fit in the hole. Could you imagine sacrificing all your hard work in raising your young only to find out they were someone else's and the baby was switched out at birth.
Finally I went back to Lake Crabtree and this time went to the Tower observation deck on the North side of the lake. BINGO!
Red-necked Grebe in breeding Plumage. There was 4 of them. Much bigger than it's grebe cousins, with longer neck and bill. when in breeding plumage pretty much a no brainer. They were about 100 yards out so the photos are heavily cropped.
After working all day at my HQ building just down the road from Lake Crabtree, I headed back down after work to see if I could get some closer looks.
Two Red-breasted Mergansers were fishing right off the docks.
Then, this Red-necked Grebe popped up right next to me! The lighting was bad otherwise this would have been an amazing shot.
Red neck, black head, long yellowish bill and excellent diver.
So now that I had the Red-necked Grebe in the bag, I devoted the rest of my free time before and after work on the next day looking for the Bittern.
The following birds were in the morning before work at the Ecostation.
Hooded Merganser.
Red-bellied Woodpecker - usually these guys are seen from the back and you can't see the belly, but when you get a look from under like this you can almost see where the name comes from.
Tufted Titmouse.
Then one final shot on my way home, I was not confident because I had given my card to the staff and asked them to call me if the Bittern made an appearance. I got no calls during the day so I was not expecting to find the bird. However, when I pulled into the parking lot, one of the ladies recognized me and told me the bird was there!
I ran down to the pond and almost stumbled right into the bird! He started taking his cryptic pose which is head pointed upward.
And every few seconds his neck would stretch a little further up.
Wait a minute, that reed is growing.
Then once the neck was extended most ways up, he/she started to sway his/her neck almost like mimicking a reed blowing in the wind.
Finally he/she started to relax once it was decided I was not a threat.
Back to business as usual, hunting tadpoles.
What an amazing trip! And I found out I got a promotion.
Great times!
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