Mallard sitting on eggs

May 16, 2017
sorry mother mallard
walking around teapot ponds, by accident, we flushed a mallard from her nest, we quickly shot a picture and left the scene

moose skull lake May 9 and 10 2017

yesterday, early in the morning, there was more open water, approx. 25%.
Last night it froze pretty good, so i went to the lake this morning i expected not much change that way.
It must have been the wind, the lake is now 80 % open.
And lots of ducks!

First yesterday, I met a grouse close to the lake. On the lake the two bonaparte's gulls, the pair of pintails and  now four mallards  (3 males  one female) and i could here the  lesser yellowlegs.

The mew gulls seem to have gone, they were not there this morning either. But a lot of ducks had flown in.
First close to were i come out at the lake; a pair of buffleheads, and a  male barrow's glodeneye.

total count:  2, a pair of, buffleheads
                   2, a pair of barrow's goldeneye
                   4, 2 pairs of scaup
                   6, one female  and 5 males, mallards
                   2 or 3 bonaparte's gulls
                   lesser yellowlegs
                   3 unidentified ducks

(and May 13, 2017 the lake totally ice free now, no ducks! nor gulls, that i could see or hear, just hearing the yellowlegs.)

 and continuing my walk , May 10, grouse, juncos and robin's,  i decided to climb a fairly steep high hill, and right on the top:

a yellow-rumped warbler.

 Yesterday May 9, a yellow-rumped warbler arrived in my yard

with two  of those???

flickers!

moose skull lake May 8 2017, boreal chikadee

As i was sitting on the shore of the lake, a boreal chikadee flew up to me.
Closeby i heard a woodpecker, but never saw it.
In the lake  I saw today;  the two  mew gulls on the remaining ice. In the water, now say 15 % open; one bonaparte's gull, a pair of pintails , 2 male mallards.
I did not walk along so i didn't hear or see the yellow legs. I did scan the tops of trees, but could not make out any bird activity.

This both an exercise in observing the birds and becoming more aware. I am sure there were more birds than i saw or heard.

Yesterday the mew girls resting, now one seemed to be pecking things of the ice

this is what i did see, April 26, when i last crossed the ice

 a melting diving beetle or scavenger beetle maybe

moose skull lake May 6 2017, dark-eyed junco

the lake is still mostly covered in ice.
May 7, 2017
 a pair of mew gulls were resting on the ice,
i heard quite a noise from the lesser yellowlegs, i saw one.
2 or 3 bonaparte's gulls.
and a singing junco.

bonaparte's gull

dark-eyed junco

mew gulls

mew gull

mew gulls resting on the ice at moose skull lake ( mendenhall) May 7, 2017