Ducks and River Ice! 

On a recent visit to the north end of the St. Clair River, a wall of ice could be seen extending from Lake Huron to within a few metres of the Bluewater Bridges. Several ducks were congregating in the open water. I slowly walked to the railing and this female Common Goldeneye popped up right in front of me. 

A female or immature Long-tail Duck was also photographed through the railing under the bridges.

4 Adult Male Long-tails and the ripples of a 5th one that dove as the shutter on the camera was pressed. All of the ducks then drifted away from the Canadian side of the river.

Edge of ice being pushed down from Lake Huron under the bridges.

The blue ice is a site to behold! Thick, compressed ice with no bubbles help to provide the conditions necessary to make the ice glow blue.

Common Goldeneye, 2 males and a female in an open patch of water. The shifting ice causes open areas to disappear quickly and the birds must be on the alert so they don't become trapped.

The species name of the Canvasback, Vallisneria, comes from Vallisneria americana, or wild celery. The winter buds and stems of wild celery are the duck's preferred food during the nonbreeding period.

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

There's always one Mallard in the crowd! The standard duck's quack is the sound of a female Mallard. Males don't quack; they make a quieter, rasping sound.

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

A male Hooded Merganser has been hanging out with the Mallards for a few weeks!

Redhead Ducks are strictly North American ducks, found nowhere else on earth!

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

Inland birds including this Red-bellied Woodpecker continue to be active but can be difficult to locate if they aren't vocal. Lucky for me, Red-bellied Woodpeckers are often vocal!

Protein rich food is difficult to find in the winter. This woodpecker "hit the jackpot" when he found a (possible) European Paper Wasp, tucked into a bark crevice. Perhaps it was an overwintering Queen!

A packet of suet attracted a number of songbirds to a branch for a few days. Chickadees, Nuthatches and Cardinals were regular visitors to the fatty food source.