McKell Wascana Conservation Park: American Wigeon

Yesterday evening I decided to go out for a much need walk to the McKell Wascana Conservation Park just a few blocks from where I live. Some great light for photography was starting around 8:00pm when I headed out and I was hoping to get some decent shots in. The light conditions were a bit marred by wildfire smoke in the upper atmosphere. There was definitely a grey haze and the sun was not visible at all. Where there should have been a spectacular Saskatchewan sunset, there was nothing but grey. This did result though in some diffuse light that, while a bit dreary, was not at all harsh and ideal for taking pictures.

As I wandered over from the street to the marsh, I began to notice something that I was not at all thrilled about - mosquitoes. Tons and tons of mosquitoes. I was surprised by this given that we've had a very dry spring here. There was a lot of snow that fell over the long winter but we've been drought-dry since the spring melt ended. Why the hell are there so many mosquitos then? If it does start raining, we're definitely in for a mosquito infestation.

At the marsh, Wascana Creek is very narrow and shallow. Just east of this spot the creek more or less dries up completely in summer. At the McKell Conservancy though, enough water exists at a depth at which it does not dry up. As a result it is home to various birds - primarily waterfowl but also Red-winged Blackbirds (their distinctive song can be heard throughout the marsh). I was expecting to see Mallard Ducks for sure and perhaps some dreaded Canada Geese (I wish that better population control could be instituted for these pests in the Regina area - they thrive in the city where there are no natural predators and their disgusting feces is everywhere).

I was pleasantly surprised though to come across something different. As I approached the edge of the marsh I noticed a waterfowl of some sort swimming toward me. At first I assumed that it was a Mallard but as it got closer it became clear that it was not. The beak was light blue in colour and the head was multi-coloured with a white streak down the centre. I had no idea what this bird was but I was enchanted by its swimming and it distinctive call.

I was disappointed by the quality of the photos that I took. I used my smartphone and I had to utilize the digital zoom to get in closer. Unfortunately, this resulted in quite a bit of grain in the images. I did manage to capture a couple of fairly decent videos of this bird swimming around and coming up on to the rocks. I also captured its distinctive call (along with lots of Red-winged Blackbird song). This helped to make up for the low-quality still images that I took.

I still had no clue what this bird was so I researched it when I got home. After consulting Google (where I did an image search off of one of the photos I took) and a book I have called "Birds of Western Canada" by David M. Bird, I was able to determine that what I had seen was an American Wigeon. According to the book:

"Often found mixed with other ducks, the American Wigeon is a common and widespread, medium-sized dabbling duck. This bird is an opportunist that loiters around other diving ducks and coots, feeding on the vegetation they dislodge. It is more social during migration and in the nonbreeding season than when breeding."

"The northernmost breeder of the dabbling ducks, occurs from Alaska to the Maritimes. Prefers pothole and grassland habitats; found almost anywhere near water in winter. Winters south to Northern South America and the Caribbean, in freshwater and coastal bay habitats."

This particular American Wigeon definitely found its perfect habitat - lots of grasslands here!

I decided to head back home after about twenty minutes at the marsh. Due to the smoke blocking the sun and a fairly stiff breeze, it was a cooler evening than usual and I was starting to get cold, not to mention being eaten alive by mosquitoes. Despite this, it was an evening well spent.