I am actually searching for an elegant trogon and a wood duck, yet I enjoy seeing and photographing new birds for my life list. It is not my life list that motivates me. It is seeing a new bird and photographing it because it is such a challenge for me to accomplish getting a good or very good photo of the bird! During this pandemic it has been my goal to learn as much as I can and to practice bird photography. Thanks to on-line courses, books and gear I am putting all together along with patience to search for birds. And then, are they in the right light? Can I capture some unusual pose? What will today’s search result in?

I found a new pond, Hardesty Pond in Tucson, Arizona. There is nothing picturesque about the area, but it is a quiet place where some birds and many turtles like to relax. I stood by the fence, a short section allowing me to peek in, and decided to photograph the birds I could see. Every bird was a distance away even with my 200-500mm lens, but what the heck, I will check it out!

Way across on the other side I see this small bird, a spotted sandpiper. Not to far away is a black phoebe and, easy to see, a great egret, along with many turtles!

In the pond water are northern shovelers, ruddy ducks and others, but then I notice some ducks that look a bit different from any others I have seen. Are they scaups? The lighting is not best, the angle is wrong, the fence limits my movement, could they swim closer to me? I think they may be scaups! I have listed the pond and the birds in eBird to see what the professionals think about the identification I made of these birds. Time will tell if I am correct, but I know I have never seen this bird before and I believe they are scaups. What do you think?

If I had better photographs we would be able to determine if they are lesser or greater scaups. What would make the difference? I need a better look at shape of head and the glossiness of it. Maybe another day!