Eurasian Wigeon rare visiting duck Madrona Marsh 255
We saw the Eurasian Wigeon for the first time last year.
Watching our feet we stepped carefully to the water's edge at Madrona Marsh (Torrance) with about 20 other birders with loaded ready cameras. This wigeon is a beautiful duck that seems to blend in with our American Wigeons. The wigeon voice sounds like pleasant squeak toys. We watched the rare duck swim in a little closer then decide to move away. Many photos were taken but few prized.
During this trip to Madrona, we were starving for a cooperative model… any bird would do. The Canada Geese weren't so very far away. Let's take a minute and try... but really, I haven't had much luck with geese….tiny head, loooong neck, big ass body, nice sturdy legs, and cool feet. Maybe in just the right position I could make it all work. W9 was game. We shrug the camp stools from our shoulders and take aim… then, silently an invisible beacon emits that only exasperated parents and whiny little kids hear. We had a theory that W9's monopod was the source of a vortex. But that theory is crumbling, not sure who to blame. We try holding our breath and stare at something not unusual… a rock, a tree branch…preferably something on the ground with no distinguishable color. Speed up the "get bored and move along" process. It gets a little dicey when folks want to chat us up or seemingly expect us to entertain their toddlers. Then I do my best to appear so involved in my camera that I masterfully don't even hear anyone speaking to me, offering up W9 as the diplomat to respond to passing visitors. Sorry W9. But I do step up now and then, I think.
Wigeons swim by us. The marsh itself has thrived with the recent rain storms. We have never seen it like this; water covers a great deal of the park. I think I see russet colored feathers where green feathers should be on a duck. Wigeons swim by us. If I'm not imagining things, the Eurasian Wigeon is close. And shaking off the intermittent bored child attack temporarily provides us a solitary moment with the birds.
Enten schwimmen bei uns. Der Sumpf selbst hat mit den jüngsten Regenstürmen gediehen. So etwas haben wir noch nie gesehen; Wasser bedeckt viel des Parks. Ich denke, ich sehe rot gefärbte Federn, wo grüne Federn auf einer Ente sein sollten. Die seltene Ente schwimmt bei uns. Wenn ich mir keine Vorstellungen mache, ist der Eurasian Wigeon nahe. Und das Abschütteln des intermittierenden gelangweilten Kindesangriffs stellt uns vorübergehend einen einsamen Moment mit den Vögeln zur Verfügung.
Eurasian Wigeon rare visiting duck Madrona Marsh 255
We saw the Eurasian Wigeon for the first time last year.
Watching our feet we stepped carefully to the water's edge at Madrona Marsh (Torrance) with about 20 other birders with loaded ready cameras. This wigeon is a beautiful duck that seems to blend in with our American Wigeons. The wigeon voice sounds like pleasant squeak toys. We watched the rare duck swim in a little closer then decide to move away. Many photos were taken but few prized.
During this trip to Madrona, we were starving for a cooperative model… any bird would do. The Canada Geese weren't so very far away. Let's take a minute and try... but really, I haven't had much luck with geese….tiny head, loooong neck, big ass body, nice sturdy legs, and cool feet. Maybe in just the right position I could make it all work. W9 was game. We shrug the camp stools from our shoulders and take aim… then, silently an invisible beacon emits that only exasperated parents and whiny little kids hear. We had a theory that W9's monopod was the source of a vortex. But that theory is crumbling, not sure who to blame. We try holding our breath and stare at something not unusual… a rock, a tree branch…preferably something on the ground with no distinguishable color. Speed up the "get bored and move along" process. It gets a little dicey when folks want to chat us up or seemingly expect us to entertain their toddlers. Then I do my best to appear so involved in my camera that I masterfully don't even hear anyone speaking to me, offering up W9 as the diplomat to respond to passing visitors. Sorry W9. But I do step up now and then, I think.
Wigeons swim by us. The marsh itself has thrived with the recent rain storms. We have never seen it like this; water covers a great deal of the park. I think I see russet colored feathers where green feathers should be on a duck. Wigeons swim by us. If I'm not imagining things, the Eurasian Wigeon is close. And shaking off the intermittent bored child attack temporarily provides us a solitary moment with the birds.
Enten schwimmen bei uns. Der Sumpf selbst hat mit den jüngsten Regenstürmen gediehen. So etwas haben wir noch nie gesehen; Wasser bedeckt viel des Parks. Ich denke, ich sehe rot gefärbte Federn, wo grüne Federn auf einer Ente sein sollten. Die seltene Ente schwimmt bei uns. Wenn ich mir keine Vorstellungen mache, ist der Eurasian Wigeon nahe. Und das Abschütteln des intermittierenden gelangweilten Kindesangriffs stellt uns vorübergehend einen einsamen Moment mit den Vögeln zur Verfügung.