Please feel free to comment by clicking the link below.
The natural world is a vast, amazing and wonderful place with so many things to see and learn. You could spend a lifetime up to your neck in nature books, wandering the wilderness with your binoculars plastered to your face and doing absolutely nothing else but exploring nature … and still only ever learn a miniscule fraction of what’s truly going on out there. If you don’t believe me, ask the scientists. They’ve been pursing this study since time immemorial and they still have tons to learn and discover. Every year, new species, new facts and new surprises emerge.
So is
it any wonder that a humble little amateur enthusiast such as myself could be
utterly stumped?
Last
week, I took you on a stroll around the pond and showed you how nicely my brand
new camera with the zoom lens works. Well, this week, my camera and
I went for a stroll in the deep urban park near my home. It’s a large patch of
woodland, near the river, that has been deliberately left nearly untouched
since the people first started settling here. The only real trace of mankind
are a few grated and boardwalk style paths to make exploration a wee bit
easier, and some benches for when you need a rest from all that easy
exploration.
While
there, I saw a beautiful Mallard duck glide by on a stream in the fenland, his
emerald head gleaming in the sunshine. A single Canvasback duck floated peacefully on a quiet
slough, occasionally diving beneath the still, speckled water for a bite of
lunch. And tubby red squirrels, who clearly had done an excellent job of
creating a store for winter last year, darted up and down tree trunks. All in all, it was an amazing trip.
But
then there was the mystery. In one stream I saw a pair of ducks, like a
contented old married couple, who seemed to have taken up residence on a little
sandbar a ways from shore. Naturally I grabbed a few shots, as any good amateur
naturalist would do. I couldn’t identify them on the spot, so I would use those
photos at home to identify them in my bird book. It’s the greatest way to learn
about nature. Experience it yourself. It’s like solving a little mystery.
Well,
my little mystery turned out to be just a bit bigger than I thought. These
birds did not appear anywhere in my book. I flipped back and forth a dozen
times, but none of the pictures in my book matched. Then I tried every trick I
know when it comes to internet searching. Still nothing. Gadwall? Nope. Wood
Duck? Hardly. Sigh! What is it? What is it?
I still
have no idea what kind of duck it is. I’ve by no means given up, and I thought
maybe you could help. Below are the three photos I took. Please take a look. If
you have an idea what they may be, please let me know by posting a comment at
the link below.
(When this post is brand new, it
will say “No comments”. Eventually it will give the number of comments.)
What do you think it is? I look
forward to hearing from you.
Ideas? Click the link below to post your ideas or see what others have suggested.
Comments