On December 15, I noticed a small gray duck swimming in proximity to the slightly larger hooded mergansers in our Wetlands. I immediately thought bufflehead. The last time I saw a bufflehead in the Wetlands was November of 2014 when two showed up. At least one of them stayed until 26, December. Sure enough, there was another this year.

With the current freezing temps, all waterfowl had departed by the end of this week. Diving ducks, of which both mergansers and bufflehead are, can not dive through the ice to secure food so they left for greener pastures, or should I say, the open waters of larger ponds or lakes.

They may be back soon as temps are supposed to be close to, if not more than, seventy degrees this Sunday.