Rosy-billed Pochard

Rosybill Pochard, Regents Park, London, UK; 4/10/10

Another duck of the Pochard family is the Rosybill (Above), that we saw in one of the many ponds at Regents Park in London. The male gender of this diving duck has a very distictive bill that curls up like a shield between its eyes, although it is described more as a fleshy knob. The female is more of a drab brown all over and does not sport the bright red bill. Its bill is grayish and without the "fleshy knob." Though classified as a diving duck, this pochard feeds more like a dabbling duck. Rosybills are native to Southern Brazil south into Argentina and Chile. They breed well in captivity and are on exhibit in many zoos around the world. The one we saw at Regents Park is more than likely a permanent resident there and probably not wild.

Red-crested Pochard

Red-crested Pochard; St. James Park, London, UK; 4/8/10.

Red-crested Pochards (Above) are considered exotic in North America, but in Europe they are wild with their breeding habitat being lowland marshes and lakes in southern Europe and southern and central Asia. They are somewhat migratory, and northern birds winter further south and into north Africa.  But in the UK there is confusion due to the fact that there have been many escapees and deliberate releases over the years, as well as natural visitors from the European continent. However, it is most likely that they are escapees that are now breeding wild and have built up a wild population.

Red-crested Pochard with its crest puffed up; St. James Park, London, UK; 4/8/10.

A pair of Red-crested Pochards; St. James Park, London, UK; 4/8/10.

The red bill and red eyes are very identifying features of the male, whereas the female (Above and below) lacks both and looks very much like the North American Ruddy Duck.

What I thought was a female red-crested Pochard is actually a female Smew (Above) - as pointed out by Juan (see comments below), St. James Park, London, UK; 4/8/10. Thank you Juan.

Common Pochard

Common Pochard, St. James Park, London, 4/8/10.

While exploring St. James Park in London last April, we saw many ducks that I initially thought were Canvasbacks (Below), but later learned that they are Common Pochards (Above), fairly common in Europe, and related to Northern America's Canvasbacks and Redheads. As you can see in the photos how similar they are to eachother.

A Canvasback; Phoenix, Arizona; 12/29/09.

The Common Pochrd's breeding habitat is marshes and lakes that are a yard or more deep. Pochards breed in much of temperate and northern Europe into Asia. They are migratory, and winter in the southern and west of Europe.These are very social birds and form large flocks in winter, often mixed with other diving ducks, such as Tufted Ducks (future post 12/19), which they are known to hybridise with.

First Snowfall of the Season; Winter Birds

Snow covers our backyard birdfeeders, Rockford, IL, 12/4/10.

The first Rockford Snow of the season blankets trees in our backyard; 12/4/10.

We had our first snowfall of the season in Rockford, IL, Saturday night and woke up with this beautiful scene.  Probably about 4-5 inches accumulated during the day.  As I imagined they would, the local birds flocked to our feeders. I counted Black-capped Chickadees, House Finches, American Goldfinches, Northern Cardinals, White-breasted Nuthatches, Red-breasted Nuthatches, House Sparrows, Downey Woodpeckers, Red-bellied Woodpeckers, Mourning Doves, and Dark-eyed Slate-colored Juncoes all looking for food around our backyard and front yard feeders. Here are some of the photos I took during the day.

Northern Cardinal; 12/4/10.

American Goldfinch; 12/4/10.

"There is a seed in here somewhere," wonders this female Dark-eyed Junco; 12/4/10

Female Downey woodpecker; 12/4/10

Downey woodpecker; 12/4/10

House Finch; 12/4/10

"Got snow?" House Finch; 12/4/10



Black-capped Chickadee; 12/4/10.

Red-bellied Woodpecker; 12/4/10.

House Finches Feast; 12/4/10.

A Red-bellied Woodpecker wonders "What's all the fuss about?"

"Hey, where'd everyone go?"

"Okay, I'll eat it myself."

Don't you just love birds?

Bahama Pintail or White-cheeked Pintail

I spotted this beautiful Bahama Pintail dabbling around a pond in Regents Park, London, UK; 4/10/10.

One of the very colorful ducks we saw at both Regents Park and St. James Park was the Bahama Pintail (Above), also known as the White-cheeked Pintail. It is a dabbling duck that is found in waterways throughout its range from the Caribbean to South America and the Galápagos Islands. The Bahama Pintail is a truly beautiful duck with a fawn colored breast with scalloping adorning plumage of black and rufous. Its striking bill of hot pink and periwinkle set off by those snowy white cheeks makes this duck very unique. Like most southern ducks, this one is not dimorphic (I learned a new word - courtesy of  http://10000birds.com/white-cheeked-pintails.htm ) which means both genders have the same appearance.

This Bahama Pintail, we spotted at St. James Park, London, UK; 4/8/10.

Birding in London Parks: Hampton Court, Regents Park, & St. James Park



The Hampton Court grounds were a great place to find waterbirds and non-waterbirds alike, London, UK; 4/5/10.

View of the Hampton Court Grounds from inside the palace, London, UK; 4/5/10.


Last spring while Val and I took a weeklong trip to London, I made point of visiting London Parks that had ponds in hopes of seeing some European waterbirds that might not be common in North America. The best areas that I found in my limitations of time and place were: 1.) the gounds surrounding Hampton Court (Above), 2.) Regents Park (Below top), and 3.) St. James Park (Below bottom).  We were only able to spend a couple of hours in each place.

BIRDS IDENTIFIED

Hampton Court Waterbirds: Egyptian Goose, Common Moorhen, Eurasian Coot, Tufted Duck, Mute Swan; Non waterbirds: Great Tit, Jackdaw, Ring-necked Parakeet, Eurasian Robin



Regents Park had the most variety of habitat for birds of all species to gather. These Tufted Ducks and  were not intimidated by the huge raptor staue greeting them, London, UK; 4/10/10.



A fountain in Regents Park, London, UK; 4/10/10.

A Bridge over a stream in Regents Park, London, UK; 4/10/10.

Regents Park Waterbirds: Bahama Pintail, Black Swans, Buffleheads, Chloe Wigeon, Shelduck, Grey Heron, Red-breasted Goose, Ross's Goose, Rosybill Pochard, Ruddy Shelduck; Non waterbirds: Eurasian Blackbird, European Robin

St. James Park Waterbirds: Bahama Pintail, Bar-headed Goose, Black Swan, Eurasian Coot, Fulvous Tree Duck, Pochard, Red-breasted Goose, Common Moorhen, Red-crested Pochard, Tufted Duck, Ruddy Duck; Non Waterbirds: British Magpie, Jackdaw

St. James Park with its ponds is another great place for birding, London, UK; 4/8/10.

In the next few posts I will feature the waterbirds that I was able to identify in these three parks.

Snowy Owl

A Snowy Owl, resident of the Lincoln Park Zoo, Chicago: 10/30/10.

As a rule I want to try to keep the photos in this blog to be of wild birds, but this gorgeous Snowy Owl (Above) was way too striking not to include it. It did take some creative maneuvering to get this photo without having fence wire in front of it. But I finally managed to find a position that didn't have trees, people or other obsticals in the way and was able to stick my lense in between the wire mesh to get this clear unabated shot.

Unfortunately for us Northern Illinoisians, Snowy Owls rarely come this far south. The farthest south their winter homes extend is just a bit north of here in southern Wisconsin and will range all the way into Canada. In the summer months, they can be found on the open tundra in the arctic circle and the northern most regions of Canada and the northern coast of Alaska.

NOTE (Added on 1/30/11): Fortunately for us Northern Illinoisians, a Snowy Owl was sighted in Ogle County, IL, in late January of 2011.  Check out my blog post on 1/29/11 link below:

http://northernillinoisbirder.blogspot.com/2011/01/snowy-owl-sighting-in-northern-illinois.html