There are a number of reasons why I decided to take on this project. My first reason has to do with my interest in birds. This began shortly after moving to Victoria ten and a half years ago. With our house backing onto a wooded area, the chirping of birds is a familiar sound all year long. I often glance out the window to see birds of all forms in the yard throughout the day. Frequently I will pull out the Birds of Victoria or Birds of North America reference guides we have on hand. Unfortunately, the drawings in the first aren’t overly helpful for identification and the number of entries in the second is overwhelming. My second reason has to do with a photography course I took a number of years ago. Since that time I have been trying to think of a practical reason to buy a new camera. Taking pictures of birds requires a powerful zoom lens which my previous point-and-shoot camera could not accommodate. Perfect! My final reason was my desire to take on a new project to welcome in 2011. Hence, bird of the day was born.



Monday, October 31, 2011

Cinnamon Teal

Anas cyanoptera

Appearance:
Small dabbling duck
Long, dark bill
Light blue wing-patch with white border
Male:
   Red-brown head and body
   Dark rump, tail and undertail
   Iridescent green on back of wing
   Red eye
Female: (not photographed)                          Listen to its call.
   Gray-brown overall
   Brown wing
   White at base of bill

While looking through photographs I'd taken earlier in the year, I realized that I hadn't posted the pictures I took of this bird back in May. Not surprisingly, I don't remember much about that day. I do know that I was at Panama Flats and, therefore, this duck must have been swimming in the flood plains. I discovered that these ducks, which are commonly found in shallow water, use their wide bills to filter food from the mud. Yummy!

Learn more about the Cinnamon Teal.
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1 comment:

  1. LakeOntarianNovember 10, 2011 at 4:42 PM

    Nice bird. I recently had some (not enough) birding time on Vancouver island. I described some of those times on my similar blog: www.mybirdoftheday.ca

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