Birding at Eagle Bluffs Conservation Area

Yesterday, Daniel and I went to Eagle Bluffs Conservation Area to look for birds and other wildlife. On previous days, I had read on the MO-Birds listserve that a handful of American black ducks had been seen there, and that the swans were back after the freeze we had. I have never seen American black ducks before so I thought lets go find them.

I received an adapter to fit my digital camera to my spotting scope for Christmas - now I can digiscope! We're still trying to perfect our digiscoping skills, so bear with the pictures I've posted today. Some are really grainy and others are grainy and blurry. So, as it goes, practice makes perfect.

We mostly saw mallard hens and drakes (by the thousands). I tried to spy on every single flock to pick out an American black duck. They look similar to Mallard hens, except they are overall a darker brown color from breast to tail, have streaking on the throat, and lack a white line on the color patch on the wings. The bill also tends to be more drab greenish-yellow to olive than the orange-yellow seen in the hen Mallard. I never did pick out a definitive American black duck.

Further into the area, I caught a glimpse of a silvery white birds with a rusty heads against the dark backdrop of the water. I stopped immediately and got the scope on them. I couldn't believe the surprise! "Canvasbacks!" I squealed. Dan, unadmittedly, was also excited. He took this photo of three canvasbacks.

There were about 10 ducks in this group, as I studied each one, I saw something different. A duck with greyish-silver sides, black extending past the breast, a more true red head with amber eyes and a powdery bill with a black tip. "Ooooh, Redheads, too!" I squealed again, in a much higher pitch. Dan shot this photo while I watched the birds through my binoculars.

I hadn't seen either of these species of duck at Eagle Bluffs since 2006 - that's not to say they haven't been there.

Further into the area back where the road bends to the right, a dozen large snowy white birds with curvy necks moved gracefully through the water. The Trumpeter swans were back, indeed! As we looked through the group, I noticed two smaller swans who seemed to break away from the Trumpeter swans and stick together - swimming, foraging, then preening. These were Tundra swans. I studied them through my binoculars while Daniel shot photos. These three are Trumpeter swans.

This is a Trumpeter cygnet. Its plumage is overall more grey. The bill is greyish-black with pink patches.

These are Tundra swans. They are smaller, have daintier necks and less of a forehead than do Trumpeter swans. Many Tundra swans also have a yellow spot just under the eye, as seen on this pair.

This is a study of a Trumpeter swan (top) and a Tundra swan (bottom). From the head-on perspective, the Trumpeter swan has a V-shaped line from eye to eye alone the upper portion of the bill. Whereas, the Tundra swan has a U-shaped line. The black portion of the bill leading into the eye seems to surround the eye of the Trumpeter. On the Tundra swan, the black portion of the bill seems to end at the corner of the eye. The Tundra swan also generally has a yellow eye spot.

Trumpeter and Tundra swans are often found together on wintering grounds. They are thought to form pair ponds on the wintering grounds. They usually start breeding from 3-6 years old. They mate for life and live to be around 20 years old! If a mate dies, the survivor will pair again. A male swan is called a cob, and the female a pen. (Strange, huh?)

We had a great experience birding (nerding, as Daniel calls it) at Eagle Bluffs. It's a neat area that often holds many surprises if you'll just give it a chance.