(Bonus) Observation of the Week, 2/13/17

This group of Harlequin Ducks, seen in Canada by @slrtweedale, is our (Bonus) Observation of the Week!

This belated Observation of the Week comes from Sarah Tweedale. Enjoy!

“As a young girl I’d wander the forest and beach taking delight in exploring what was beneath the rocks on the beach, and in the forest fascinated by everything about it: the trees, and the way they danced in the wind, the different kinds of bark on the various trees, the bugs in the forest floor amongst the cedar bits and fir cones,” writes Sarah. “Finding fungus was like finding a treasure, and the discovery of little stands of Indian Pipe that sprung from the forest floor when the conditions were right, was a wonder to me, as was their pale translucency.” She also learned about photography from her father’s old Zeiss Ikon camera when she was a teenager.

With her career and her family, Sarah’s photography “took something of a back shelf. But not my eagerness to keep learning.” After retiring, she’s had more time to explore the surroundings of her home on Galiano Island, one of the Southern Gulf Islands in Canada’s British Columbia and work on her photography “with both my Canon 70 D and, very conveniently my iPhone.”

Sarah takes her Golden Retriever out for walks in the morning, and says “I meander out to the water’s edge by our flagpole and enjoy the feel of the breeze, sounds of seals, eagles, herons, songbirds, and in the winter, the early morning feeding of various ducks...on the morning I captured the photo of the Harlequins, I was just plain fortunate that I got to the edge of the water before our dog did, as she’d have flushed them off, and there they were, lined up on the rocks. There was little wind, so the waves were small, and the water fairly silky smooth. It made for a happy shot!”

Spectacular diving ducks that live along the northern coasts of North America, Harlequin ducks prefer rough coastal waters and and quickly flowing streams, where they search for the invertebrates and fish that make up their diet. In fact, researchers have found that many adult Harlequin ducks have evidence of broken bones, which is believed to be from their turbulent habitats. Unlike many other ducks, Harlequins make a “squeaky” noise when communicating; they are sometimes called “sea mice.”

Sarah uses iNaturalist to record her findings on Galiano Island, and says “In addition to logging information I find iNaturalist a wonderful resource [for] identifying and learning more about the species that live nearby. The great benefit to the whole enterprise, to me, is that the more I learn, the more I see. And the more I see, the more curious I am to learn more. iNaturalist is a great gift for a person like me. Thank you so much.”

- by Tony Iwane


- Check out more of Sarah’s photography and thoughts on her blog, Curious Spectacles.

- Here’s a short video of Montana’s Harlequin Ducks, with some cool footage of them in some quick streams.

- Harlequin ducks are a pretty interesting species. For instance, during breeding season females return to the same streams where they were born, bringing along a male they met on the coast! A longer article about them can be found here.

Posted on 14 de fevereiro de 2017, 06:41 AM by tiwane tiwane

Comentários

Nenhum comentário ainda.

Adicionar um Comentário

Iniciar Sessão ou Registar-se to add comments