Wintering Ducks on our Ponds! 1/24/2023

A few lifers and rarities as I explored the various ponds around Metro South Boston including a Tufted Duck on Lake Pearl, and a Redhead and Pied Billed Grebe on Jamaica Pond. While hearing about the Redhead that was reported at Lake Pearl in Franklin, MA, I also noticed that fellow ebirders were reporting a rare Tufted Duck that rarely shows in the Northeast. The single duck was hard to find, but I finally caught up to it near the boat ramp on Lake Pearl along with a very distant Redhead. The Tufted Duck is the one with the "Tuft" in the rear while there are two Lesser Scaup in the forefront.

I wasn't able to get very good looks at the Redhead on Lake Pearl, but I headed to Jamaica Pond near Mattapan to look for more of these beautiful ducks and hoped to see them at a closer distance. There were 3 males and 2 females and, another lifer, a solo winter Pied Bill Grebe. What a compact and cute bird! This was the first time that I had been at Jamaica Pond in inner city Boston and I will be back!