March 01 – My Nature Journal
March 01, 2026 Nature Journal
American Wigeon
Mareca americana
Today I was lucky enough to spot this pair of American Wigeons dabbling around in a quiet inlet in the lake.
In my experience, American Wigeons are extremely unobtrusive birds and easy to overlook.
They seem to prefer shaded areas where they blend into the shadows and the lake shore and they move slowly and smoothly. Even when tipping up, they avoid sharp movements that would draw attention; instead, they tuck their bills to their chests and almost glide their front halves underwater, with none of the flailing, bright orange legs that draw eyes to tipped-up Mallards.
American Wigeons also act shy and move away quickly when approached. They seem to prefer to swim away rather than take flight. In fact, I’ve yet to actually see an American Wigeon in flight, although obviously they fly well since they migrate into my area every winter.
Green-winged Teal
Anas carolinensis
I was so pleased to relocate this Green-winged Teal pair again today.
I spotted the male from the far shore of the lake. It was dabbling in the muddy shallows and the pale yellow patch on its tail caught my eye when it moved on the water. I hot-footed it around the lake and worked my way closer, all the while scanning for the female.
I eventually spotted the female, who floated fairly close to the male. In my experience, mated Green-winged Teals stick close to each other. I’ve never seen either sex of this pair more than a few feet from its mate. The hard part is finding one of them in the first place because they are so small and the female is even more nondescript than a female Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos).
To me, locating Green-winged Teals in the wild is worth doing.
I find watching ducks as they go about their lives to be both relaxing and entertaining. Green-winged Teals add sheer beauty to the mix.
I love the rich colors of the males; the deep, chestnut brown head with its gleaming emerald eye stripe, the soft-looking gray body feathers the exact color of an overcast sky, and the beautiful, black-bordered pale yellow tail feathers so unusual in nature.
At first glance, the female Green-winged Teal comes in a poor second to the flamboyant male. But females have their own beauty; a medley of tans, browns, and creams that seem to suit this species’ quiet nature. And if one is lucky, the female Green-winged Teal will hold her wings just-so, and allow a glimpse of the patch on each wing called the “speculum”—colored the exact same brilliant green as the male’s eye stripe.
All this duck beauty would be enough for any nature journaler, but today was my lucky day. As I watched the Green-winged Teals, the pair decided to relocate. They abandoned their head-dipping and began to swim, the male in the lead. After a few yards, I realized that they were on course to swim past the American Wigeons.
I held my breath, prayed that I had my camera setting right, and waited—not calmly at all—for the male Teal to catch up to the male American Wigeon. He did so and I started snapping away.
To claim that I’m pleased to have seen males from two of my favorite wild animal species in close proximity would be a tremendous understatement. I am absolutely, unbelievably, ridiculously happy that I was able to get this shot.
Nature gives subtle gifts. This moment was one of them.
Ruddy Duck
Oxyura jamaicensis
Ruddy Ducks intrigue me.
They are common on this lake during the winter, and I enjoy watching them during their active feeding periods.
Ruddy Ducks are diving ducks; they submerge themselves completely to find food. Ruddy Ducks “duck-dive” beneath the surface and use their broad, webbed feet to position themselves above the substrate, where they nibble aquatic plants or strain the mud for insect larvae and crustaceans with their bills.
This must be a very effective foraging strategy because, outside of brief feeding periods when individual ducks disappear beneath the surface and pop back up like corks, Ruddy Ducks seem to spend most of their time floating calmly far out in the middle of the lake.
Wood Thrush
Hylocichla mustelina
I caught sight of this Woodland Thrush as I was walking back home.
These birds are usually pretty shy. They prefer thick, brushy areas, so are often both behind branches, twigs, and leaves and in shade. But this one perched out in the open and in the sun for the precious few seconds I needed to catch its photograph.
I love it when wild animals help a nature journaler out!
Eastern Gray Squirrel
Sciurus carolinensis
As always, my nature walk was accompanied by numerous Eastern Gray Squirrels. I simply had to photograph this one, because I found its pose so charming. It was clearly watching me, poised to flee, but content to evaluate whether I was a true threat.
This was just one of many little nature moments that brightened my day.
Pond Turtle
Family Emydidae
Yellow-bellied Slider
Trachemys scripta scripta
Slug
Class Gastropoda
White-tailed Deer
Odocoileus virginianus
Great Blue Heron
Ardea herodias
Bald Eagle
Haliaeetus leucocephalus
Once again, I was either about forty-five minutes too early or forty-five minutes too late in my trip to the lake. The resident adult Bald Eagle winged in to its favorite perching tree only after I was on the complete opposite side of the lake.
One of these days, bird, I’m going to time this right and get a close-up picture of you.
In the meantime, know that I find you magnificent and that I’m so happy you keep coming back.
Bufflehead
Bucephala albeola
Today’s Nature Journal Snapshot
|
Time of Day |
Mid-morning |
|
Setting |
Large lake |
|
Temperature |
Around 60° F / 16° C |
|
Weather |
Passing clouds |
|
Humidity |
Around 75% |
