A Warbler in the Weaselhead
About a half an hour after watching the Goldeneyes on the Elbow River at the Weaselhead delta, I had trekked along a path overhung with very wet branches. I was soaked through but heard some bird chatter in a clearing. And soon caught sight of a pair of Yellow Warblers (Dendroica petechia) flitting through the trees. The male was reclusive, staying hidden inside the bushes, but the female was a little less so.
She moved fast and often but seemed a little bit curious which afforded a couple of opportunities. It proved to be a challenge to pick her out cleanly against the foliage even with the bright yellow colouring. But I thought she was beautiful so I watched her for another half an hour before continuing onwards to the edge of the Glenmore Reservoir.
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Goldeneyes at Weaselhead
I walked around Calgary’s Weaselhead Natural Environment Park this morning. The park is where the Elbow River spreads out across the flats into a delta threaded with smaller streams that drain into the Glenmore Reservoir. At the first bridge I crossed over, I noticed several female Common Goldeneyes (Bucephala clangula) floating around. I watched them flying up to this nesting box gone slightly askew. It seemed they may have enjoyed the view from this spot .
When one would fly away it wouldn’t take long before a new duck stopped in. It seemed like I could hear murmurings about possession being 9/10ths of the law. However determination won a little longer rest on the perch for one of the Goldeneyes. She held her ground, flapped the wings and the would-be usurper flew back down to the river.
These three ladies threw some interesting looks at me, each other and across the river.
