Bursting Into Song!

Sunshine and singing birds welcomed us to LaSalle Park Marina in Aldershot on Sunday including this male Hooded Merganser! Hooded Mergansers are small ducks with a thin bill and a fan-shaped, collapsible crest that makes the head look oversized and oblong.

https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Hooded_Merganser/id

Two Carolina Wrens happily foraged for food at ground level, alternating with singing from the "dead tree" tops.

A Winter Wren sang from a high perch, which is unusual behaviour for this species. Winter Wrens are often seen hopping and scampering through the understory moving more like a mouse than a bird as they investigate upturned roots and decaying logs for food.

https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Winter_Wren/id

The perch was a minimum of 15 feet above ground level!

An interview with a Trumpeter Swan! An attempt to record their trumpeting sound was made, but the birds were not particularly vocal at the time. (The photographer almost got "goosed" by a swan from behind!) They are our biggest native waterfowl, stretching to 6 feet in length and weighing more than 25 pounds - almost twice as massive as a Tundra Swan!

https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Trumpeter_Swan/overview

A juvenile Trumpeter Swan with head tucked in, was "lulled" to sleep despite all the commotion around it.

A pair of Trumpeter Swans flew a circular route before landing. 

Although the American Coot swims like a duck, it doesn't have webbed feet. It is more closely related to Cranes and Rails than ducks.

https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/American_Coot/overview

The iridescent colours of a male Bufflehead are visible in the right light. From a distance or in poor light, the head can appear black. The name "bufflehead' is derived from "buffalo-head", for the male's distinct and puffy head shape, which is visible in this photo.

https://www.ducks.ca/species/bufflehead/

I didn't realize that this Ring-billed Gull was standing right in front of me. He was well camouflaged against the snow.

Larger and plumper than a Mourning Dove, Rock Pigeons are tubby birds with small heads and short legs. Four Rock Pigeons wandered around amongst the Trumpeter Swans, Canada Geese and many ducks.

https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Rock_Pigeon/id