With such nice weather lately I was all about getting in another workday walk on Monday. The park was crazy busy again and I felt like kind of a dork taking photos with so many people around. Despite all the people around me I didn't hesitate when I saw this Pheasant as I've had such few photo opportunities with them.
He was quite a ways away so it didn't turn out as well as I'd hoped. On the northeast side I spotted a strange bird way high up in a big cottonwood tree. I took some pics as I tried to figure out what the heck it was. After watching for a bit I noticed another more colorful bird of the same shape just off to it's left.
I was kind of shocked to realize that they were Wood Ducks that high up in a tree. I've only ever seen them on the water but apparently they do perch in tall trees -a note confirmed by my bird book. After rounding the southeast corner I immediately noticed a large white bird out on the water. He was super far away but I waited until he caught up with some ducks and geese before I took a photo -as it would show off his true size.
I assumed he was a Trumpeter Swan but upon further inspection I believe it was a Mute Swan. Both Trumpeter Swans and Tundra Swans have a black bill and it was too large for a Snow Goose. According to what I've read, this seems to be a bit of an odd sighting for this area. If true I can add a new species to my list of wildlife seen in the park! A good website I've recently discovered has some interest facts about Mute Swans:
http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Mute_Swan/id
With such nice weather lately I was all about getting in another workday walk on Monday. The park was crazy busy again and I felt like kind of a dork taking photos with so many people around. Despite all the people around me I didn't hesitate when I saw this Pheasant as I've had such few photo opportunities with them. 
He was quite a ways away so it didn't turn out as well as I'd hoped. On the northeast side I spotted a strange bird way high up in a big cottonwood tree. I took some pics as I tried to figure out what the heck it was. After watching for a bit I noticed another more colorful bird of the same shape just off to it's left. 
I was kind of shocked to realize that they were Wood Ducks that high up in a tree. I've only ever seen them on the water but apparently they do perch in tall trees -a note confirmed by my bird book. After rounding the southeast corner I immediately noticed a large white bird out on the water. He was super far away but I waited until he caught up with some ducks and geese before I took a photo -as it would show off his true size. 
I assumed he was a Trumpeter Swan but upon further inspection I believe it was a Mute Swan. Both Trumpeter Swans and Tundra Swans have a black bill and it was too large for a Snow Goose. According to what I've read, this seems to be a bit of an odd sighting for this area. If true I can add a new species to my list of wildlife seen in the park! A good website I've recently discovered has some interest facts about Mute Swans: http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Mute_Swan/id
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