Kountze Lake - Teeming with Waterfowl

Common Goldeneye

Kountze Lake is a man-made reservoir located in the middle of the city of Lakewood. During spring and summer, the central oasis is a hotbed of activity for both birds and animals but it seems to be busy this time of year too.

Upon entering the preserve, a vacant woodland was sparse with inhabitants save for a few fox squirrels. At the waterfront from out on the pier, the partially frozen pond was teeming with babbling waterfowl.

Canada Geese were shown in force, far outnumbering the rest of the birds. Conspicuous amongst the herd, a few white-headed floaters must have been hybrids of the Canada and the snow with their speckled plummage glittering in the evening sun.

Also basking in the warm sunlight, a male mallard’s already iridescent coloring sparkled even more brilliantly. The shovelers segregated themselves from the rest of the pack, staying close to shore on the rocks while forming a striking silhouette.

Most active of the bunch was a goldeneye that kept diving into the frigid water, disappearing for several seconds at a time. We weren’t expecting to see much wildlife on such a cold, winter day so we were surprised to encounter so many birds at such a small, urban lake.

Eastern fox squirrel

Conspicuous amongst the herd

Canada Goose x Snow Goose hybrid

Iridescent mallard

Northern shoveler

A striking silhouette

An active goldeneye

Disappeared under the water

Comments

  1. UnknownFebruary 2, 2019 at 3:51 PM

    Thanks for the post. I will be heading to the lake on Monday 4th Feb so I hope to see some of these beauties.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dan MillerFebruary 3, 2019 at 2:38 PM

      Lucky you! We usually so birds and wildlife whenever we visit. Good Luck! Thanks!

      Delete

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