Waterfowl at the Bluffs on Macro Lens Day 3: March 2021

After a morning of heavy rain, the skies opened up and I headed to the beach at the base of Cathedral Bluffs.

Phragmites (Phragmites australis)
Beach Grass (Ammophilia breviligulata)

As usual there was a great deal of waterfowl and gulls.

Canada Geese
Ring-billed Gulls
Canada Geese
Ring-billed Gull
Mallard fe(male)
Trumpeter Swans
Trumpeter Swan
Canada Geese
Rock Pigeon
Buffleheads (male)
Trumpeter Swan with aggressive Mallard
Bufflehead (male)
Trumpeter Swan
Trumpeter Swan
American Black Ducks and Mallard (male)
American Black Duck (male)
American Black Duck (female)

The bird feeding area was also busy.

Northern Cardinal (male) and Tree Sparrows
Northern Cardinal (male)
Northern Cardinal (female)
American Tree Sparrow

The strong winds made it almost impossible to photograph very small objects with the rented macro lens.

This is the best one that I got.

Staghorn Sumac (Rhus typhina)

Being eager to gain experience with this lens, I clipped a few twigs and set up a makeshift work area at home to get some closeups.

Here they are.

Weeping Willow (Salix babylonica)
Autumn-olive (Elaeagnus umbellata)
Missouri Willow (Salix eriosephala)
Missouri Willow (Salix eriosephala)
Staghorn Sumac (Rhus typhina)
Black Locust (Robinia pseudoacacia)
Cottonwood (Populus deltoides)
Buffalo Berry (Shepherdia argentea)
Black Walnut (Juglans nigra)
Serviceberry (Amelanchier)
Tartarian Honeysuckle (Lonicera tatarica)

MAILBAG

Miles, thank-you for the wonderful photos of the Snow Bunting, Horned Lark And Rough Legged Hawk-beautiful for me to see. Rockwood Park is a place I have not been but am going to make a visit there-lovely.I so enjoyed the article on The Ravens. I have read about their intelligence.Take care, Miles and thank-you ever so much once again for the effort to bring Nature to us.

NATURE POETRY

Come when the rains
Have glazed the snow and clothes the trees with ice,
While the slant sun of February pours
Into the bowers a flood of light.             – William Cullen Bryant (1794–1878) 

Miles Hearn

1 thought on “Waterfowl at the Bluffs on Macro Lens Day 3: March 2021

  1. Lisa Volkov

    I sure am glad you repeated and captioned the initial picture! I thought at first that some poor duck was scrambling to get on an ice floe! I’m not faulting your photography–it was my powers of observational interpretation that were lacking! Couldn’t account for all the tags, and that “ice floe” looked awfully peculiar, though…
    I guess you’ve started another twig and bud collection? This is a great place, with a currently very icy path. Wonderful ducks and birds, and I’m glad the official feeding of Trumpeter Swans is being kept up despite the pandemic–not considered a “Swan Restaurant”, I suppose–or would it be an outdoor patio? (Please excuse the pathetic attempt at “pandemic humour”.) Thanks, Miles!

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