Jan 09 2011 - Keep off the Ice

  A bitterly cold day kept away the human customers at Riverbend. The River was mostly frozen but the bay on the Maryland side and a few other areas. In the bay there were a couple of hundred Ring-necked Ducks. Mixed in were a few Common Mergansers, a Hooded Merganser and (around) 19 Redheads. A single female Canvasback was also in the flock. As is usual in winter at Riverbend the vast majority of Ring-necked were male, maybe 90% in this group.

Futher up stream, in the next sizeable area of open water a close-knit group of 20 Redheads were found and a big raft of maybe 120 Bufflehead

At the Visitors' Center a block of suet attracted more than the usual customers including Tufted Titmouse and Cardinal. The female Cardinal that had been attacking its reflection the last two visits wasnt seen today.

A Squirrel ate fries from the rubbish bin outside the center :O

Winter arrives at the park

A cold and breezy day at Riverbend saw few visitors, human at least. The feeders were busy with lots of Titmice and others. The seed was low so many birds were attracted to the suet. However the woodpeckers rules the roost when they chose. There was (at least) a pair of Downy and a couple visits from a 'bellied' The river was high and flowing fast and I only managed 4 Common Mergansers and 8, very cute, Bufflehead. Towards the end of the day I found this eagle eating (apparently a bird) across the river

A quiet Riverbend

Not much happening with birds or people today. The 'new' entrance to the visitors centre gives a good reflection in early afternoon leading to a femLe Cardinal attacking her reflection for about an hour in short spells.