Spring IS coming...

Migrating waterfowl are providing something new to see almost every time I drive out to the lake--this time, it was a mixed flotilla of black-headed birds, some with lighter bodies.  My photo taken with my little digital wasn't good enough for a positive ID, so we went back out with Joseph's spotting scope.  We've decided there were American coots amongst the blue-billed Lesser Scaups...

Lots of fun to watch them feeding among last year's reeds and stems...NBII
("National Biological Information Infrastructure," I see why they use an acronym!) has an interesting article about Scaup's migration patterns as well as their life history...we'll see them for quite a while, since they may still be migrating northward in mid-May.  They're considered one of the most abundant diving ducks in the US.

I wish I could have seen the coot on land--they've got longish legs and interesting lobed feet, unlike a duck's webbed foot.  Still efficient "paddles" for wading, though...more on coots HERE...

And DON'T you wonder where the expression "you old coot" came from?!?