Conditions couldn’t have been much worse at Col. Sam Smith Park this morning.

Moderate to heavy rain for the whole walk. Very icy or very muddy trails for the entire walk. Even the Snowy Owl, who is usually here, showed us their opinion by avoiding the area.

Despite this, a brave brave group of nine appeared at 10am.

A winter question which I often hear at this park is “What is that duck with the white sides?”

There are 3 possibilities and I will explain the difference in this post.

Greater Scaup (male)

On the water, male Greater Scaup are black at both ends and white in the middle.

Bufflehead (male)

Male Buffleheads are mostly white with a black back. The puffy head has a large bonnet-like white patch.

Common Goldeneye (male)

The male Common Goldeneye is a white-looking duck with a black back and black (at a distance) head. Note the large round white spot before the eye.

Photos from today. (I eventually gave up trying – much too wet!)

NATURE POETRY

Oh, come and look at his blue, sweet eyes,
As, through the window, they glance around
And see the glittering white surprise
The Night has laid on the ground!   – Sarah Morgan Bryan Piatt (1836–1919), “A Child’s First Sight of Snow”  

Miles Hearn