As I was headed down from my condo to my car, though, I stopped and took some photos of my pal Max. Here's a close-up on her.

Anyhow, I then got in the car and headed on out to Reifel. I was looking for a few particular birds: a Black-crowned Night Heron and a Red-necked Phalarope. I didn't find the heron in his usual hiding place in the slough near the entrance, so I plodded on into the refuge. Near an early branch point in the path, I found a pair of interesting ducks.

Well, the ducks were Mallards, which tends not to be interesting around these parts, but it turns out that they were not the usual wild variety. These were a pair of domestic Mallards, perhaps escaped from captivity. Here's a picture of the two of them; the female on the left (with eyes closed) and the male on the right. Behind them is a male wild Mallard; you can see the difference in the plumage. I hadn't seen any domestic Mallards like these before.

At least, I'm presuming that the light-brown duck (which, by the bill shape, is almost certainly a Mallard) is the mate of the dark-brown one with the white bib, which would make her a female domestic Mallard. None of my guide books have pictures of female domestic Mallards.

I walked on to the outer ponds, where there were some shorebirds. I searched for the Red-necked Phalarope, but didn't find it. There was a Wilson's Phalarope hanging around.

There were the usual Dowitchers and Yellowlegs there, as well.

I climbed the stairs up the observation tower, but didn't really observe anything from there, so I climbed back down. I figured I should head back anyway, as I was on a tight schedule. On the way back to the entrance, I spotted this Bewick's Wren looking down at me.

When I reached the East end of the refuge, I looked around for owls and warblers, but all I really found was this guy circling in the air above.

He passed pretty much right above me. His whole family was around; he joined three or four of them flying over the field to the east.

I checked the slough again when I went out, but still no Night Heron. I didn't find either of the birds I was looking for, but I was happy with the domestic Mallards and the close encounter with the Bald Eagle.

As I left Reifel, I kept my camera in the front seat with me. I usually do this, because Reifel is on Westham Island, and when you're on Westham Island, you never know when you're going to see a Deere on the road.

Well, that was it for my morning...I went on to work for the afternoon. After work, though, I stopped by Como Lake to check on the Pied-billed Grebes. They were still there, doing their feeding thing. I caught a few pictures of them, and then turned my camera on the local geese. I caught a Graylag (Barnyard or domestic) Goose taking a sip,

and I caught this ancient Muscovy Duck hanging out in the shade by the water.

This guy has been around Como Lake for a few years, and is a shadow of his former self. He's actually a domestic Muscovy Duck; the wild ones have a different plumage (they are green!). It seemed to be my day for domestic waterfowl.

After catching these fowl, I left, as I wanted to get some dinner and get home to sort through photos. Thus endeth my photography of the day.

Until next missive!

Your fowl follower,
Tom