Tufted Duck-Massachusetts and Other Birding

Alan and I decided to take a trip toward the Massachusetts/Rhode Island border to see if we could get the Tufted Duck that was reported yesterday via eBird. We got to Seekonk and the Turner Reservoir at around 9AM or so and the place was filled with Greater Scaup, some Ruddy Ducks, Hooded Mergansers and we hoped somewhere in this flock would be the Tufted Duck we had traveled to see.

Greater Scaup

Scopes and binoculars came out as we scanned the waters in search for the target bird and soon enough a bird of interest appeared as Alan and another birder we met up with from New York were looking at a bird that had the all black back which is a good field mark for this bird). Soon enough the bird raised its head to show off its tuft in an effort to tease us some before it would tuck its head back again out of view and we all wanted a really good look at it before the final call was made that the bird was found and plus I wanted at least a record shot as that still remains my favorite way to get a life bird.
Soon enough the birds started getting a little more active and the drake finally gave us a good look of the tuft that we waited ever so patiently to see.
The highlight of the experience for me was to be able to identify the bird on my own using the scope which is something I'm still learning but got a lot easier once I saw it in Alan's scope and then used my own to relocate it after they had moved some. I had my eye on the bird and he angled his head in such a way that I saw that fantastic tuft clearly and we left there very happy to be able to see such an awesome bird.
Next it was onto the Great Meadows in Concord to see some American Coots which was a bird I still had yet to get and really wanted it on my list before the end of the year.
There were quite a few other birds there including the Green-winged Teal that you can barely see in the picture above. They were all by themselves on the other side of the pond skulking around some cattails.
Suddenly we could hear the familiar honking of Canada Geese as they landed in the pond which made looking for coot a little more challenging as the waters started to get crowded.
Soon enough we found quite a few who were now inter-mingled amongst the geese.
Really cool looking bird and a little stockier than I expected it to be.
On our way back to the car, there were quite a few Eastern Bluebirds around like the one above.
I love bluebirds any time of the year, but there is something a little more special about seeing them in the winter for some reason. I suppose it's because they are so colorful which is something I don't see much during the gray, darkened days we have had so much of recently.
Lastly an American Goldfinch of my feeder this morning.
It was all by itself feeding on Nyjer after the snow we had last night. The snow was the kind that didn't build up enough to make travel tough, but left just enough to make everything around you look pretty.

Take care all.