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I visited Farmington Bay in Davis County this
morning and witnessed a dramatic change in the habitat. Most of the
large waterfowl resting area is frozen over. Several birds were caught off-guard in the quick overnight freeze
and were apparently frozen in the ice. A male Bufflehead, a
Pied-billed Grebe, two Common Mergansers and a Lesser Scaup sat low in the
ice with no open water around them and moved only their heads and
necks. These birds may have been able to free themselves as the day
warmed ("The day warmed?" you exclaim. "When did that
happen?!?")
I saw evidence of others
not so fortunate. The predators and scavengers did Mother
Nature's clean-up work. The bay provided their version of a
Tastee-Freeze. A HERRING GULL fed on an unlucky dead Eared
Grebe. The carcass skittered over the glassy surface each time the gull
pushed its bright yellow bill into an open wound. Two Northern
Harriers and a young Bald Eagle stood separately on the ice and fed on the
scattered remains of other birds that had been caught unaware when the freeze
engulfed them.
The remaining open water areas must appear to
the waterfowl like oases in a desert of ice. Each of the three spots
of open water were PACKED with birds. I studied one of the smaller
"islands" to see what strange bedfellows had come of the new
circumstances. This spot was east of the dike road and between
the second bridge and the parking lot at the end of the dike.
Most of the occupants in the small pool were
American Coots; however, Gadwall, American Wigeon, Mallards, Northern
Shovelers, Northern Pintails, Redheads, Lesser Scaup, Buffleheads, Common
Goldeneyes, Ruddy Ducks, and Eared Grebes were present. I had to
do a little genealogy guess-work to ID the surprise duck of the day--a
male goldeneye x Bufflehead hybrid.
The hybrid was black and white and a bit
larger than the Buffleheads. It had a strongly peaked crown, even
more peaked than either goldeneye species. The rest of the head shape
was clearly goldeneye--thinner at the top, fat and jowly at the neck. In
bright light the crown showed a greenish glint. The bird was able to
fold the crown like a Hooded Merganser does just before diving to give it a
flat-headed look. The black of the crown began at the base of
the black bill and extended right through the eye, down the nape, and below
the bill on the throat. The eyes were not a zinging gold as are a
goldeneye's. The bird had to swim to the near side of the open water for
me finally to see that the eye had a gold color, but it looked a little
odd--like when a human wears a set of pale-colored contact lenses. The bird sported extensive white cheeks,
sides, and flanks. The scapulars were almost completely white
with three fine edges of black separating the field. The back and
tail were completely black. It was fun to
see a new duck!
A few other species were present at
Farmington. In the next unit south and far in the distance toward the
Bountiful Landfill, several large white and dusky gray swans stood on the ice or
rested, appearing headless. A Red-breasted Merganser, American Kestrels, a
Red-tailed Hawk, Great Blue Herons, Western Meadowlarks, and American
Goldfinches rounded out the morning.
Kris
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