Jordan Lake State Park

Category

By Scaup Identification!

OK! Dr. O’Shea at Ask a Naturalist at the NC Museum of Natural Sciences sent me this reply to my query if the flock of birds I had posted were Greater or Lesser Scaups: “Those are Lesser Scaup. Greaters do occur inland on the larger lakes, but it would be unusual to see so many away from the coast. Head shape can be a useful field mark, but not on flying birds. Fortunately these photos show the wing stripe very well. On a Greater Scaup, this stripe extends farther out into the primaries.”
Today’s photo is the same flock (I submitted 2 photos to Ask a Naturalist), and, it is easier to see the field mark in this photo that Dr. O’Shea says makes the identification of Lesser Scaups.
BTW: if you need help with an id of a bird, or animal or amphibian, plant, etc. here is the link to NC Museum of Natural Sciences Ask a Naturalist https://app.smartsheet.com/b/form/f7d290b6c48c451ba6f979db79fd1b9e8

lesser scaups

By Scaup!

Jordan Lake. OK gang, I saw my 1st ever scaup 4 days ago. It was all by itself. The photo was decent enough for me to id it as a scaup but not whether it was a lesser scaup or a greater scaup. This morning I photographed a whole flock of 30 scaups. All my ID apps and texts say they are greater scaups, but I’m not sure I would wager money on greater versus lesser!

scaups

By Silent Orb

Jordan Lake. moon setting / naught but rounded cloud / bald eagle / passes silent orb / shutter blinks / oh if only / I too could fly

bald eagle moon transit

By Twig Toy

Jordan Lake. Most raptor species seem to enjoy carrying around various objects that have really no practical use. Like this adult bald eagle, carrying around this twig of dead Pine needles. They just seem to get a kick out of hauling things around … playing!

By Horned Grebe Take-Off

Jordan Lake. The horned grebe is a superb swimmer: its legs are almost under its tail and it has specialized feet that are long lobes like hickory tree leaves. It uses its leaf feet to propel itself quite quickly underwater. However, the placement and kind of feet keep the grebe from being able to takeoff efficiently … it can only launch from open water.

Horned Grebe Take-Off

By American Coot

Jordan Lake. The American coot is an interesting waterbird. He is an omnivore and is as happy dabbing at food on the surface or going underneath the water to get stuff or walking along finding tidbits. His lobed feet serve well for either paddling or walking.

American Coot