Scouting The Shoreline

GREENWING TEAL Watercolor and Tempera, 13" x 18" Courtesy of Mr. & Mrs. William F. Wilder, Phoenix, Arizona

Thince of the Autum Wetlands

WILSON SNIPE Watercolor, 19" x 28" Courtesy of Mr. & Mrs. William F. Wilder, Phoenix, Arizona

Breeds

From Arctic coast to Aleutians, southern Alaska, Great Slave Lake.

Habitat

Ocean, bays, lakes, ponds (winter); tundra (summer).

Nest

A depression in the marshy tundra.

Eggs

Olive, spotted (4).

Three species of phalaropes occur in North America. They are closely related to the sandpipers, but possess some characteristics lacking in their relatives: all have little round lobes of skin on their toes so that as they swim and spin about in shallow water, they stir up the bottom and bring food items up into reach. Their swift, spinning movements in the water combined with their staccato head movements have earned them the name of "sewing machine birds."

Women's liberation has also reached this group in that the female is the brightly colored sex and goes about forming short-lived romances which terminate with the male sitting on the eggs, while she goes off seeking another ephemeral romance.

KILLDEER PAGE 20 Winters

From southern British Columbia, Idaho, western Montana, southeastern Wyoming south. Casual in southeastern Alaska.

Breeds

From northern British Columbia, southern Mackenzie south.

Habitat

Airports, lawns, fields, riverbanks, irrigated land, shores or any other flat surface.

Nest

A scrape.

Eggs

Buff, spotted (4).

The run, stop behavior of this plover along with its striking markings and distinctive call are good field identification characteristics of this shore bird. Being a plover, most people are surprised to see it far from water as it runs across the land, stops, and flies calling "killdeer." Although a ground nester, the adaptability of nesting in this species has been demonstrated by a pair that has made a small depression on a graveled roof atop a building in Phoenix, Arizona. Bix Demaree has monitored the activities of these birds and the 150° ground temperature has not prevented this determined pair of killdeers from successfully bringing off young.

CANVASBACK PAGES 22 AND 23 Winters

From southern British Columbia through Pacific states; locally in Great Basin and Rocky Mountain states.

Breeds

In central Alaska (upper Yukon), northern Mackenzie; and from Great Slave Lake south (east of the Cascades) to northern California, northern Nevada, northern Utah, northern Colorado and western Nebraska.

Habitat

Fresh water lakes and marshes (summer) and salt bays and estuaries in winter.

Nest

A down-lined basket among reeds.

Eggs

Gray-green (7-9).

The magnificent Canvasback, which was a very common duck, is now in danger as numbers continue to decline.

Man's continued determination to convert all marshy duck nesting habitats to more "useful" purposes combined with other population decimators have brought the once common Canvasback to frighteningly low numbers. Such organizations as Ducks Unlimited, Defenders of Wildlife, and the National Wildlife Federation have with the United States Bureau of Sport Fisheries and Wildlife, bought and preserved large sections of waterfowl habitat. An added problem is the ingestion of lead pellets, especially by Canvasbacks, which cause lead poisoning. It only takes a few of these pellets to cause death.

WANDERING TATTLER PAGE 23 Winters

On the coast primarily from southern California to Ecuador and on numerous Pacific Islands. Accidental in western Alberta.

Breeds

From Mt. McKinley, central Yukon south to northwestern British Columbia.

Habitat

Mountain streams above timberline (breeding). Rest of the year, rocky coasts, pebbly beaches; on tideflats in Hawaii.

Nest

Twigs on gravel bar of mountain streams.

Eggs

Greenish, spotted (4).

The Wandering Tattler is an uncommon species that resembles many of the small sandpipers. It prefers to winter along the rocky coastal areas of southern California and Mexico and forages among the rocks for small marine invertebrates, whereas most of the other small sandpipers like foraging on smooth shady beaches and intertidal areas. In the spring, Tattlers travel north to nest along mountain streams in Alaska and northern Canada.

BLUE-WINGED TEAL PAGE 23 Winters

From central California, southern Texas south.

Breeds

From southern to central Alaska, Great Slave Lake south (primarily east of the Cascades) to northern to central California, Utah, southern New Mexico and central Texas.

Habitat

Fresh ponds and marshes.

Nest

Down-lined depression in grass near water.

Eggs

Whitish (6-12).

The Blue-winged Teal is a transient in the Southwest; its numbers are variable from year to year. The drake is striking with a large white crescent in front of his eye and a blue head; the drab female is so difficult to identify that even in the hand she can be confused with the female Cinnamon Teal. The Blue-winged Teal, Cinnamon Teal and the Shoveller (which is not a teal) have identical wing coloration. They are the only American ducks with the pale blue wing patch.

PINTAIL PAGES 24 AND 25 Winters

Primarily in the Pacific states north to southern Alaska; in interior north to Utah, Colorado; also Hawaii.

Breeds

Arctic Alaska, northern Mackenzie south locally to central California, northern Arizona, Colorado and north Texas (rarely).