The Galien River estuary outside New Buffalo is very hospitable to migrating birds. The river feeds a sizable marsh as it opens out into Lake Michigan, a marsh that the high lake waters back up into, too. When I visited the other day, the marsh was very swollen. It being early spring, there were very few signs of life, but far in the distance swam two or three ducks, which proved to be blue-winged teal. The male has a distinctive white ring encircling his beak and a big blotch of white feathers on his flank. In flight, he displays a beautiful plumage of sky blue, white, and green on the upper part of his wings.
I am grateful to have a camera that can zoom in enough to photograph (slow-moving!) birds from a great distance away. And I love having mementos of just how the water looked on a particular day.
