Waldie's Winter Waterfowl

I took advantage of a rare sunny day and went birding down at Waldie Island. There was an enchanting atmosphere as the snow in the trees melted and dripped all around, the leaves rustled in the gentle breeze and the  dry grass quaked; all the while feeling the warm glow of the sun. Good day for birding! There was a large flock of ducks around the island including all 3 Bucephalas and 3 Aythya species. An unusual sight were 2 male Common Mergansers along with 9 females, I usually only see females. There were also plenty of Mallards with a few Canada Geese. 

I also managed to find Townsend's Solitaire, Great Blue Heron, Bohemian Waxwing and a Herring Gull at the very end of my outing, nice birds to end with.

Location:     Castlegar--Waldie Island
Observation date:     2/9/11
Number of species:     20

Canada Goose - Branta canadensis     8
Mallard - Anas platyrhynchos     55
Ring-necked Duck - Aythya collaris     20
Greater Scaup - Aythya marila     4
Lesser Scaup - Aythya affinis     40
Bufflehead - Bucephala albeola     19
Common Goldeneye - Bucephala clangula     8
Barrow's Goldeneye - Bucephala islandica     55
Common Merganser - Mergus merganser     11
Great Blue Heron - Ardea herodias     1
Bald Eagle - Haliaeetus leucocephalus     1
Herring Gull - Larus argentatus     1
Northern Flicker (Red-shafted) - Colaptes auratus [cafer Group]     4
American Crow - Corvus brachyrhynchos     17
Black-capped Chickadee - Poecile atricapillus     1
Townsend's Solitaire - Myadestes townsendi     1
Bohemian Waxwing - Bombycilla garrulus     20
Song Sparrow - Melospiza melodia     6
House Finch - Carpodacus mexicanus     5
Pine Siskin - Spinus pinus     2