April 30, 2023 - Como Lake - Part 2

Here are the rest of the birds I photographed at Como Lake.

Mallards are common ducks in our area. They are often quite tolerant of people. This male Mallard swam right past me. He was so close he filled the entire frame of the camera.

MallardmaleComoLakeRamseyCounty20230414

As I mentioned last week, most ducks are paired up at this time of the year. That was true of this male and female Mallard. The trees along the shoreline don’t have leaves yet. The brown background in this photo comes from the reflection of the tree trunks and branches.

MallardmaleandfemaleComoLakeRamseyCounty20230414

This is a male Redhead, appropriately named. During our winter Florida trip, we often see huge flocks of Redheads floating in the Apalachicola Bay. They are now on their way to nesting areas in marshes and prairie potholes in the central United States.

RedheadmaleComoLakeRamseyCounty20230414

This photo shows a male and female Redhead. Like many duck species, her plumage is much less colorful than that of the male.

RedheadmaleandfemaleComoLakeRamseyCounty20230414

This is a male Scaup. Lesser Scaup and Greater Scaup are difficult to tell apart. Based on the shape of the head, I’m going to say this is a Lesser Scaup.

ScaupLessermaleComoLakeRamseyCounty20230414

There were several American Coots on the lake.

CootAmericanComoLakeRamseyCounty20230414

Pied-billed Grebes are small birds, only 13 inches long. Note the dark band around its beak.

GrebePiedbilledComoLakeRamseyCounty20230414

Common Loons were in the Twin Cities area, waiting for the ice to go off our northern lakes. I counted seven of them on Como Lake. I talked to someone who saw 22 Loons on the lake the day before I was there.

LoonCommonComoLakeRamseyCounty20230414