The Ring-necked Ducks have been back since early April. In small flocks in the beginning which have slowly dwindled to only one pair as far as I can tell. They haven't nested here in my little pocket of wilderness in the past but here's hoping they might this year.
I found a small flock of Lapland Longspurs feeding in the frozen beach wrack in early February. They or another group were still there feeding 3 weeks later. These are shots from the latter date and include 3 different individuals. Most of my attention was focused on the brightest looking (more colourful) bird.
For an explanation on beach wrack here is a quote from google.
"What is beach wrack? Natural material that washes onto the beach is referred to as wrack and includes algae, sea grasses, and some invertebrates such as sponges and soft corals. Wrack serves as the primary source of nutrients to beach communities and is the foundation for the food chain."
For anyone not familiar with these birds, they are the smallest of the three species of mergansers found here. The most obvious difference between the sexes of the juveniles is the colour of the eye (yellow in the males) and the colour of the bill. All black in the males and black with mostly orange/yellow lower mandible in the females.
Like most Winters in this part of the province there were a few Fox Sparrows around. Some at feeders and some, like this one, at any patch of bare ground they could find during the snowiest stretch of the season.
I didn't have too many opportunities to photograph Purple Sandpipers this Winter. This might have been the only time and nothing at close range.
