Nature clicks #204 - Bufflehead

 

I try this bird since several years and this is how much I got so far. The Bufflehead is one of those pretty ducks that are extremely skittish. We see them every spring during migration time, mainly on the Mississippi River, but every photo I made before showed only some white dots on the water. They keep their distance from the shore as soon they sense some movement. The Buffleheads have their breeding grounds in Canada and the Mississippi Valley is obviously one of their migration routes. I have updated my EASTERN IOWA WILDLIFE GALLERY recently but I guess I have to do it again… :-)

Nature clicks #187 - Carolina Wren

 

After the first nights with some frost the leaves fall fast. It becomes easier again to spot birds in the trees and bushes. A couple days ago I saw already two Carolina Wrens hopping around on our porch and in the flower bed of the front yard. To my surprise I got one of them in front of my lens today. I checked my old records and the only time we saw them before was in January or February when they showed up at our bird feeders. With other words, these are my first "non-feeder" shots of this little wren. As you may remember its cousin, the House Wren, raises their offspring every year in our yard and I have shown many pictures about them here in the blog before.

We are here at the northern edge of the Carolina Wren's breeding grounds. They are nonmigratory birds but their range expands north if the winters are mild. I'll keep my eyes open this weekend and hope to see them again and maybe can make another click or two...