“Oasis”

With Presque Isle Bay, outer Lake Erie, and the interior ponds at Presque Isle State Park all frozen over, migrating waterfowl look to wherever there’s open water, the best spot being Presque Isle Marina where underground pumps keep the water recirculating in Marina Lake to avoid ice damage to dock infrastructure.

Female Ring-necked Duck at Presque Isle Marina

These shots from a very cold and mostly gloomy (ice fog/snow drizzle) Saturday, although with no one on staff thinking to take an ‘environmental context’ shot Saturday (ahem), this is from Sunday:

Presque Isle Marina, Sunday morning

Current transients at the marina include Bufflehead (left/middle), Red-breasted Merganser (right of middle), and Lesser Scaup (right, bottom middle), plus Canada Geese, Common Merganser, Ring-necked Duck, etc. (shown below):

Canada Geese in flight
Open pools at marina w/ Great Black-backed Gull @ center
Ring-necked Ducks in flight
Male Common Merganser landing by docks
Male Lesser Scaup
Lesser Scaup (l) + Ring-necked Duck (r)
Male Common Merganser in flight
Common Merganser, Herring Gulls, & Great Black-backed Gull
Merganser takes off in snow drizzle
Mixed ducks
Another shot of female Ring-necked Duck
Immature Herring Gull I
Gull II
Ring-necked Ducks
Immature or female Red-breasted Merganser
Male Red-breasted Merganser
Red-breasted Mergansers
Oasis pool (note single male Mallard @ far right)

2 thoughts on ““Oasis””

  1. Paul Edwards

    Why would a Team Member go out in the cold on a Saturday morning???
    Very nice to have the Oasis for the ducks… somebody was thinking of birds? No, must be the docks!

    1. admin1 Post author

      An oasis for the docks indeed!

      Nothing more invigorating than getting outside early AM when it’s 0 deg F, then standing around looking for birds.

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