Jewels of Winter Birding

I am a fan of waterfowl watching. Birding for colorful blue jays, cardinals, and other backyard species has its merits as these birds are available year-round and are often used to introduce kids and newcomers to the outdoors to birding. However, wild ducks and geese are only with us from November to early March.

The male bufflehead drake glistens with shades of green and purple sometimes black looking on its white head. The familiar "quack" of the mallard can be heard in the bog and small beach at Croaker Landing. Ruddy ducks have been known to raft (swim closely) in groups of more than a hundred. But this year, a different bird has taken center stage.

Canvasbacks cruising the York River

Canvasbacks Command the River

The canvasback is about 20 inches long with a 33 inch wingspan. They feed in less than 4 feet of water where they can easily dive for insect larvae and snails in addition to their vegetarian diet. These ducks are no strangers to our shoreline and have been seen in rafts up to 30. Perhaps due to conservation efforts in the US and Canada, their numbers have increased dramatically, up to 100 in a raft. We have seen Canvasback rafts change shape from long lines to single clusters. Watching them swim, dive, and surface in formation is worth taking a winter stroll from our Maritime Overlook gazebo to fossil beach.

York River State Park is a great place for birding and photography

Catching a Glimpse and Image

Canvasback rafts are spotted easily from anywhere on the shoreline. The rafts are usually huge and the birds are much closer to each other than the smaller and more scattered buffleheads. With a good pair of binoculars or spotting scope, the drakes are easily distinguished with their rust-colored heads and hens with being brown. Both sexes have a white/gray body. Photographers with a 300mm lens, 20x zoom or better should be able to capture some good images. By getting closer to them along the fossil or seining beach, you will hear and see them splashing around.  

There is no foul weather for water fowl

Count Birds in Our Back Yard

If you wish to help researchers understand canvasbacks and our other feathered friends, Come to York River State Park and participate in the Great Back Yard Bird Count on February 13 thru 15, 2015.

This is a self-guided program where you count the different species and population of birds. Spend as much or little time as you wish and submit your findings online. Perhaps with your help, we will find out if the large rafts of these wonderful waterfowl are a mere fluke, or a sign of things to come.  

See them at York River State Park before they fly back north

Directions to York River State Park: From I-64, take the Croaker Exit 231B. Go north on Route 607 (Croaker Rd.) for one mile, then right on Route 606 (Riverview Rd.) about one and a half miles to the park entrance. Take a left turn into the park.