We knew it was going to be a good morning on Monday when 13 lucky people showed up for our first public walk of the year — the first bird we saw was the Snowy Owl, perched easily within Spotting Scope range.
     The owl stayed (he is pictured here yawning), and everyone had good looks at him. Later, when we went to DeKorte, we saw the sometimes elusive Eurasian Green-Winged Teal  (also here on Tuesday).

   It is also called the Common Teal, but it's not very common around here most of the time. Other ducks included Gadwall, Hooded Merg, Common Merg, Ring-neck and Shoveler.

   Click "Continue reading…" for the full list and a new Green-Winged Teal pic. 

DeKorte and Beyond: 010509 9 a.m. 11 a.m., 25 species

Canada Goose

American Black Duck

Gadwall

Mallard

Green-winged Teal (both types)

Northern Shoveler

Canvasback

Ring-neck

Bufflehead

Hooded Merganser

Common Merganser

Herring Gull

Ring-billed Gull

Great Black-backed Gull

Great Blue Heron

Northern Harrier

Red-tailed Hawk

Rough-legged Hawk

American Kestrel

Snowy Owl

American Crow

Mockingbird

American Tree Sparrow

Song Sparrow

Euopean Starling