Playing at a New Pond

It's always nice to discover a new birding location, a great spot to see different birds with a different view than your very familiar local trails. Over the weekend, I joined a bird walk with Bill Fenimore of the Wild Bird Center in Layton, and we visited Beus Pond in Ogden. It's a nice, medium-sized pond with a rich riparian habitat: open water and flowing streams even in the winter, many nesting boxes for the local waterfowl, marshy and reedy areas for cover, and crabapple trees for winter food along the park's perimeter - all ideal for birds. The park is even well planned for birders: ample parking that won't disturb the birds, a well groomed path around the pond and through some forested patches, feeders kept filled to attract numerous songbirds to great views, and a small dock projecting slightly into the pond for excellent waterfowl views and interaction.

Over the course of the hour-long visit, we spotted more than a dozen species on even a drab winter day, with some remarkable views of wood ducks and mallards swimming and preening, black-capped chickadees stealing seeds from the feeders, spotted towhees foraging in the brush, a brown creeper flitting up tree trunks, and a sharp-shinned hawk poised for a hopeful lunch. It's a lovely spot, and I can't wait to visit again, particularly during migration seasons and spring, when the ducks are fledging.

Bill Fenimore is a wealth of birding knowledge and local history of wildlife management, and his bird walks are always a pleasure. On this occasion, he shared with us some of the history of Beus Pond and its magnificent population of wood ducks. Wood ducks are not widespread in Utah, and not much habitat is suitable for them locally. Beus Pond, however, is an ideal location, and about 20 years ago a group of wood ducks with clipped wings (to prevent them from leaving) was introduced to the pond. The birds were well cared for with the nest boxes and careful monitoring, and they have thrived. In recent years, reports of wood ducks have been confirmed in adjacent areas, proving that the introduction has been successful and the duck population is growing.

Beus Pond is a wonderful birding location, and I can't wait to go play again when even more birds will join the game.

Chilled Duck

It seems as though Mother Nature has been playing April Fool's jokes on the neighborhood ducks in the past few days. Despite the earlier spring weather, we've receded into winter and have been getting regular snowfall. During the deepest fall, the mallards and wood duck looked positively perturbed, but that didn't stop them from visiting my yard to forage.

Watching ducks waddle through the snow is more amusement than I've seen in weeks - they looked like legless boats rocking precariously on the surface of a white, powdery sea. What's more, their expressions were undeniably disgruntled, yet they persisted. The wood duck and one of the mallard hens stationed themselves beneath my hopper feeder; she proceeded to shovel through the snow with her bill in order to vacuum up spilled millet and black oil sunflower seeds, while he kept a close eye on the mallard drake roaming the patio. Eventually, however, the hen decided that a better bet for sustenance would be the bread scraps I obligingly tossed onto the patio - in fact, it was so tasty she didn't bother to shake the snow from her bill.

While the calendar may say it's spring, in many places winter weather still prevails and we must not get disgruntled ourselves when the birdbath needs cleaning or the feeders need refilling. While I'm not about to put my hummingbird feeders out and the landscaping is currently on hold until the weather clears for more than a few hours, I can't help but notice how faithful - or at least how greedy - the backyard birds are when they know they can count on a rich food source. Will you be faithful to them?

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Just Ducky

I've always been thrilled that our neighbors, whose backyard is far more developed than ours, have a pond, but never more so than today. Not only have the mallards returned, but they've brought a friend: a wood duck. All four, for the wood duck has apparently paired up with one of the mallard hens in a cozy way, visited our yard today, and I obligingly provided a treat of whole grain bread.

Wood ducks are stunning creatures, quite possibly one of the most beautiful native duck species in North America. Aptly named, their exotic coloring and stark, bold markings make them appear to have been carved from fine wood. As I learned from this afternoon's observation, however, they can also have quite the territorial attitude and do not tolerate any other male's attention to their perceived companions. Time will tell, of course, if this pairing is meant to last.

While all four of the ducks enjoyed the bread scraps, they also proceeded to snack on the black oil sunflower seed and millet. Not only would they take it from the ground, but one pair quickly found the recently filled platform feeder and decided that it was more convenient than ground feeding. They both tasted the peanuts, but wisely decided they weren't as tantalizing and left them for the scrub jay, who also visited this afternoon for his own treat.

The backyard excitement didn't end there, either. Earlier today, I spotted the first of the returning Cassin's finches. There is also an unusual yellow marked bird that has stumped my identification techniques; I've asked Bill Fenimore for assistance on that one and will spread the word as soon as I know. With all the excitement that I've had today, I hope your backyards are just as entertaining!