Northern Pintail at Blackwater NWR.

I got to Blackwater in time for a quick dawn shot, but I missed the best colors by half an hour.

The few clouds dispersed quickly, and I had good light for most of the morning. Pintails are still plentiful, there are many more Shovelers, and Eagles were easy to find.

I made a stop at Oakley Street, but it’s still too early to find ducks in any quantity.

Blackwater Dawn 31

Blackwater Dawn.

Bald Eagle 2017-212 Bald Eagle 2017-211 Bald Eagle 2017-210 Bald Eagle 2017-209 Bald Eagle 2017-208

Bald Eagle 2017-213

Eagles were very active today.

Northern Pintail 2017-60 Northern Pintail 2017-59 Northern Pintail 2017-58 Northern Pintail 2017-57 Northern Pintail 2017-56

Northern Pintail 2017-61

There seem to be more Northern Pintails than in previous years.

Northern Shoveler 2017-50

The Northern Shoveler population is increasing.

Great Blue Heron 2017-125

Several Great Blue Herons were fishing in the marsh.

Red Headed Woodpecker 2017-81

This is a juvenile Red-headed Woodpecker.

Hooded Merganser 2017-805

These Hooded mergansers took off soon after I spotted them.

Ruddy Duck 2017-13

I saw only a few Ruddy Ducks.

Bald Eagle 2017-207

I found this juvenile Bald Eagle at Jonas Green Park yesterday.

American Wigeon 2017-5

This American Wigeon was the only duck at Oakley Street.

Delmarva Fox Squirrel 27

It took a while to get in the right position for a good look at this Delmarva Fox Squirrel.