Monday, December 1, 2025

Rechecking the Ponds and the Nazareth Quarry ~ December 1, 2025

In the mid-afternoon, I started at the Green Pond area. At Green Pond, a Great Blue Heron was working on swallowing the fish that it caught.
I walked the paved path and found the continuing male Bufflehead in the back middle pond along with 82 Canada Geese and a couple Mallards. In the treeline next to the golf course, I found 2 Eastern Bluebirds plus a male Yellow-bellied Sapsucker pecking away on a trunk.
I checked the retention pond along Green Pond Road and found the lingering Killdeer there.

Over at the Newburg Road retention pond, I picked out 3 Cackling Geese among the 250 Canada Geese. Note the small overall size (close to that of a Mallard), gray or silver back, short neck, small, flat head, and stubby bill. Also note the thin white line separating the dark neck from the creamy breast that some Cackling Geese show prominently.

Here are two photos of a Cackling Goose in front of the larger, darker Canada Goose. Again, note the thin white line on the neck that some Cackling Geese show.

Here's two more comparison photos of the two species showing the smaller size, shorter neck, smaller, flatter head, and stubbier bill.

I then headed up to the Nazareth Quarry. Waterfowl there included 31 Ruddy Ducks, 18 Ring-necked Ducks, 7 Buffleheads, 6 American Coots, and 400 Snow Geese among at least 3000 Canada Geese. As has been occurring over the past week, a large group of gulls flew in as sunset approached and landed near the center of the quarry. I found 3 Iceland Gulls among 400 Lesser Black-backed Gulls, 14 American Herring Gulls, and 5 Ring-billed Gulls.

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