Rivers can be important corridors for wildlife.

In summer, we often see muskrats or turtles or fish traveling along river ways, but in winter they can be important lifelines for overwintering waterfowl.

Here in South Bend and Mishawaka, Indiana, the Saint Joseph River is partially frozen over.

We've had an unusually cold late January, and because of that, parts of the river are partially frozen over.

Waterfowl is congregating in the open water for waterfowl, searching for invertebrates or small fish, or even plant life.

Open water is critical in winter.

Sometimes we get species here that actually we only see in winter.

They migrate down from farther north, and in some winters, when it's unusually cold, we get species that we don't see every winter because some of those ducks have shifted down just a little farther south to find more open water.

Let's take a look.

It's pretty common for us to see groups of mallards swimming along the Saint Joseph River even in winter.

And of course, Canada geese as well.

But I was surprised recently to see a couple of American coots.

They breed in our area and I don't often see them in winter because they migrate a little bit farther south for the winter.

They have a distinctive white bill that contrasts with their black body, and the males and the females look alike.

A marker for winter weather for me is common goldeneye on the river.

They get their name from their golden eye and their surface divers, and the male has a white cheek patch, and the male and the female look different, have different plumage from each other.

Likewise, hooded mark answers also look different from each other.

The males have a white and black crest.

They're kind of, for me, the punk rocker of the waterfowl world in their coloration, and the male can raise and lower its crest in various display, features.

And then they are divers for fish and invertebrates.

So they do rely on this open water that they can find.

And the females, with their brown funky doo, can also raise and lower their crest Gadwalls are the sophisticated, understated, elegant swimmers in the waterfowl world.

They're actually my favorite duck.

And they have the males have a black, but that you can kind of see even from a pretty good distance, and a little white handkerchief.

Beautiful plumage.

And the female is even more subtle sometimes can be easily confused with a mallard.

Greater Scaup have a blue and black bill, and I often find them on Lake Michigan in groups in winter, less often in inland lakes and rivers, and the females have kind of a white circle around their bill and their divers searching for aquatic plants.

Redheads form huge large rafts in Lake Michigan, but much smaller groups here inland and again, not very common in inland areas.

Even in the winter, of course, they get their name from the males striking cinnamon colored head.

Two really uncommon geese showed up in South Bend recently a small, diminutive, all white goose with black wingtips and a kind of stubby little pink bill.

Pink feet and the snow goose is similar but larger, and it has kind of a green patch or a brown kind of gape on the side of its bill.

But the one that was here, unlike the name that you might think Snow Goose must be white, but this was a blue color morph, a little bit less common than the all white coloration of a typical snow goose.

Individuals showed up along Riverside Drive on the St Joe River.

The real showstopper, though this winter, has been the long tailed duck, and a few individuals showed up.

It's a sea duck and a fantastic diver.

They can dive as deep as 200ft as they search for food in open water, and they are, sometimes found along the Lake Michigan shoreline.

Not very often inland.

Long tailed ducks get their name from the very long, slender tail that the male uses for display, and the female is much more subtle colored, even in winter plumage with grays and soft browns and and whites.

So really beautiful birds that lots of nature enthusiasts and birders got to see this winter along the Saint Joe River.

Special thanks to Jim Spier and Tom Kosel for sharing their fantastic photos with us.

Of birds that they got to see here in and along the Saint Joseph River.

This winter, if you're lucky enough to have a river near you that you can hike along in winter.

Be sure to bring some binoculars, or just keep an eye out for some unique and beautiful overwintering waterfowl.

Remember, you can find your own outdoor elements when you visit area parks and natural areas.

We'll see you soon.