03/30/09

Monday, March 30th
Wayde, Lee and Wayne made the morning drive to Schooner Creek to check the trap. Nice clear and mild day. There were no fish in the trap but we did see some wildlife. A pair of ducks were swimming in the pond by the trap. We did not recognize what they were but hope Frank will look at the photos and identify them for us.
Two herds of elk were seen on the way out. The first on was on the south side of the road near the junction of Drift Creek Road and the road to the landfill. (Also near the natural gas switching facility). The other herd was on the south side of the Drift Creek Meadow. We were back by 11:00 PM
Wayde

Note from Frank "Ducks":
Mystery solved by Frank...............

I checked out the photo and the only duck I can see in the photo is a drake common merganser.

The drakes have a white body, green head but usually looks dark from a distance, and a long narrow orange bill. The hens have a reddish brown head with scraggly looking crest feathers as if it was having a bad hair day. They are a fish eating duck and usually ingest around 10 fish per day. They have been known to swallow a trout weighing 4 lbs. Thanks for sharing. Frank