This site uses cookies to improve your experience. To help us insure we adhere to various privacy regulations, please select your country/region of residence. If you do not select a country, we will assume you are from the United States. Select your Cookie Settings or view our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Cookie Settings
Cookies and similar technologies are used on this website for proper function of the website, for tracking performance analytics and for marketing purposes. We and some of our third-party providers may use cookie data for various purposes. Please review the cookie settings below and choose your preference.
Used for the proper function of the website
Used for monitoring website traffic and interactions
Cookie Settings
Cookies and similar technologies are used on this website for proper function of the website, for tracking performance analytics and for marketing purposes. We and some of our third-party providers may use cookie data for various purposes. Please review the cookie settings below and choose your preference.
Strictly Necessary: Used for the proper function of the website
Performance/Analytics: Used for monitoring website traffic and interactions
There is a hidden cove in Anderson River Park in Northern California where birders know they can almost always find Wood Ducks (Axi sponsa). Since I hadn’t been to Anderson River Park for awhile, I stopped by last week and found some Wood Ducks at the usual spot. Birds Cavity nesting birds ducks Wood Duck'
Resident mallards are considered an “exotic duck” in Florida and have the potential to drive the native mottled duck (Anas fulvigula) to extinction through hybridization. These wild birds migrate out of Florida to northern breeding areas in the spring and are not present in Florida during the mottled duck breeding season.
Due to some erroneous numbers thrown about by Duck Stamp advocates, I feel that some explanations are in order. To be clear, Duck Stamp proceeds make up only a portion of the 3% of refuge land purchased by the MBCF. Now, as the popularity of hunting has declined, so too have the sales of Duck Stamps. million, a 37% reduction 3.
Ring-necked Duck ( Aythya collaris ) photo by Larry Jordan. The Migratory Bird Hunting Stamp Act , which went into effect seventy-nine years ago on July 1, 1934, authorized the annual issuance of what is popularly known as the Duck Stamp. You don’t have to be a genius to see the folly in this approach to Duck Stamp sales.
A new source of exposure highly pathogenic avian influenza is affecting cats: raw diets containing poultry such as duck, turkey, or chicken that were contaminated with the virus. Cats appear to be particularly susceptible to severe illness from H5N1, often resulting in death.
Lake Constance (of the Bodensee in German) is a huge lake on the border of Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. The place is very popular among tourists of these and many other countries, with extensive tourist infrastructure in place in most towns around the lake.
Having grown up in Suffolk County on Long Island, New York, I made the reasonable assumption that the Black Duck Porter made by Greenport Harbor Brewing Company was named for the American Black Duck , a locally common dabbler found throughout the East End’s many bays and saltmarshes. Or at least enough time for a quick tipple.
Well, this week’s beer doesn’t quite qualify as one but it’s pretty close: A Beer Named Duck from Mast Landing Brewing Company of Westbrook, Maine is a New England pale ale. Well, some kind of dabbling duck. Mast Landing Brewing Company – A Beer Named Duck. I know we see a lot of New England IPAs here at Booze and Birds.
On a sandbar in the center of the Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge, hundreds of ducks swirled around each other or lay down to take cover against the punishing wind. The waterfowl flock was made up of two very unique looking species: the Fulvous and Black-belled Whistling Ducks. I couldn’t believe it. What made my eyes widen?
One of the old jokes I always hear at Christmas Bird Count dinners pops up we get to the ducks, which is now pretty early in the compilation thanks to the current taxonomic order. “Summer or Wood Duck” from The Birds of America by John James Audubon (1785-1851).
In the book, one picture stood out in particular: the White-headed Duck. There were only a few dozen of these ducks left and the photographer – using old-fashioned analog film – took just one, very fuzzy shot. Even so, the idea of one day going out to find this rare duck appealed to me. Time to look for that UFO myself.
I’m posting this video I shot at Delevan NWR in case you haven’t seen these elegant ducks in action. Birds dabbling ducks Delevan National Wildlife Refuge ducks Gaadwall National Wildlife Refuges' Dapper indeed! Our National Wildlife Refuges are special places where we can observe wildlife in their natural habitats.
Ducks and divers The bottom of the city is, naturally, the lowest point or course of the Danube (around 74 m / 240 ft above sea level), the best area being the confluence of the Sava and the Danube, around the War Islands Reserve. Otherwise, the foothills (bus stop “Avala”) are reachable by city buses 401, 403, 405, 407 and 408.
There were several ducks around the water body and they included Pacific Black Ducks , Plumed Whistling-Ducks and Wandering Whistling-Ducks. Ducks, Ibis and Egrets. There were also Australasian Darters and Little Pied Cormorants. There was also a Black-necked Stork.
Actually, when I started to bird, my second ever duck, after the Mallard , was a Ruddy Shelduck! I was in a kayak, the duck was some 4-5 metres from me, easily tolerating my interest for some 5 minutes or more, implying that it was almost certainly an escapee. Birds ducks Europe Serbia' Well, too odd to be countable.
But for birders, the name bluenose might more easily be applied to ducks of the genus Oxyura. I imagine that this is due to the cold winters up there, rather than suggesting that all Nova Scotians are prudes. The six species in this genus are all… Source
Would it still be deep enough for the ducks that prefer that half? Would there be enough deep water to see Ruddy Ducks and Clark’s Grebes ? The western half still has enough water for some shorebirds, but the thousands of ducks I would usually see now number in the dozens.
A strange duck, let’s see… an eclipse male Red-crested Pochard ! This was the last of the local ducks that I managed to find (it took me years of birding), and ever since I have seen it only once in every 2-3 years. Nearby are four very dark brown ducks… Tufted Duck females!
Lake Cuitzeo is Mexico’s second largest lake, and its uniformly shallow waters make it a powerful magnet for dabbling ducks and shorebirds. Back in 2017 I was shocked to find only 15 ducks over the course of the morning, when I had hoped to find hundreds, or even thousands. This was once my lake. But in Mexico you certainly can.
My former nemesis was the Masked Duck. As much as I looked for it in the right places, the pirate duck stayed elusive. These were some of those final steps to my lifer Masked Duck: A Distant Site. The most reliable spot for Masked Duck in Costa Rica is the site known as “ Las Pangas ” in the Coto wetlands.
While the P-a-P Wildfowl Trust’s main thrust is the breeding and release of five duck species, the habitat encourages a number of native wetland birds to inhabit and proliferate the area. Commonly domesticated, wild versions of the Muscovy Duck historically inhabited wetlands across Trinidad.
That green grass is not a meadow; it is growing in water deep enough for swimming ducks. The dot in the center of the second photo is a lone Mexican Duck flying just over the water. It is too early for some ducks ( Wigeons , Gadwalls , and Green-winged Teals , plus Redheads and Canvasbacks with some luck) to arrive.
There was a large raft of hundreds of American Coot , an American White Pelican and lots of duck species. I will not name all ducks, but Bufflehead and Canvasback were lifers so they deserve a call-out. Sandpipers up in the air and a general panic among the coots and ducks. The birds warmed us too.
In Japan—where appreciation for all things kawaii is especially keen—roadblocks come in the form of dolphins, ducks or frogs. It specifically mentions Japan: “Cute things are everywhere, not just online.
The following week, I finally got some great photos of a male Ruddy Duck with its fantastic reproductive blue bill. First there was the Lesser Ground-Cuckoo, a species I had long wanted to see. The perfect views it gave us made the wait well worthwhile. I wrote about this encounter a month ago.
The usual ducks were also present – Black-bellied Whistling Duck and White-cheeked Pintail. Both of these are dabbling ducks while the scaups are divers. Checking some of the other ponds revealed more ducks, namely a group of ten Blue-winged Teal and a staggering number of Black-bellied Whistling Ducks.
As it turned out, the remaining water was too shallow for ducks, except a few Northern Shovelers. Admittedly, early May is too late to find most duck species in Michoacán, even in a good year.) In fact, I can see many more of these ducks, much closer to home. It was only a bit better for shorebirds and egrets.
So does this Mexican Duck (NOT a Mallard sub-race, according to the 2020 AOS decision): Note the (lack of) depth of this water. But the Fulvous Whistling-Ducks were the ones that really won my hearts. Extra points to these Whistling-Ducks for finding water deep enough to swim in. Maybe they just like a little variety.
The waterbirds were fun to watch, as they often are at this park, and all the standard species were there particularly Mallard , Common Pochard and Tufted Duck (you might have noticed I mention Tufted Ducks a lot in my posts – I’m not sure why but I really like this species!) and Goosander.
Nisqually NWR is a major staging area for migratory birds , a wintering area for many ducks and geese, and a breeding area for numerous songbirds. There’s a $3 day-use fee, but it is free if you have a Duck Stamp. According to eBird , 278 bird species have been observed and approximately 14,000 checklists have been submitted.
Just two weeks earlier, the only ducks I had seen were a handful of resident Mexican Ducks and Fulvous Whistling-Ducks. They had such a good time that on Monday Jonathan took me back to see what he had found. One important discovery was that the migratory season is now in full swing.
There were six species of wild ducks, along with the usual few released domestic ducks. The ducks stayed far enough away to keep me from taking any great photos. Unfortunately, the reservoir is now starting to look rather dry as well: Still, the birds were still there. ” And so do I.)
But I was more surprised by a Cinnamon Teal — my first duck for the reservoir — accompanied by 5 Pied-billed and 6 Least Grebes , since Least Grebes , especially, tend to be solitary birds here. Northern Pintails may be our most handsome wintering duck. (It yielded 88 on January 1st, 2020.)
I had not expected to determine the whereabouts of a a remaining duck species, the adorable Ruddy Duck. I normally see Ruddy Ducks on the lake’s deepest waters, and as I said, there are no deep waters in the Lake Cuitzeo right now. It’s so good to see all my old friends are still around.
Highlight species: Ferruginous Duck , Goosander , Red-breasted Merganser , Red-crested Pochard , Greater Scaup , Velvet Scoter , Black-throated Diver. In late February and March, the only duck species that does not overwinter here is heading back – the Garganey. Ducks mostly migrate in November, reaching their peak by mid-December.
Late summer 2023 the lakes and ponds had been empty, presumably because the ducks and geese were moulting. Empty no more, the ponds were now brimming with ducks of all creeds and persuasions – it was spectacular. If there were such a thing as a Periodic Table of Ducks we went from hydrogen to uranium: every duck imaginable was there.
A curious Laysan Duck takes a stroll at Midway Atoll. Laysan Ducks don’t seem to be as tied to water as other ducks, which makes sense considering the limited habitat available. Although Laysan Duck is a Hawaiian bird, most birders have never heard of it. That would have been awful. home at Midway Atoll.
A Little Grebe that does not have all her ducks in a row (ok, a grebe is not a duck, I know, but still, I happily sacrifice ornithological accuracy for a bad pun). At Nanhui, all bird parents are working parents – with all the stress that this brings.
They were scattered among large numbers of Tufted Ducks and particularly Common Pochard , creating a active group of diving ducks that was fun to watch. Greater Scaup with Common Pochard Greater Scaup with Tufted Duck & Common Pochard The first time I saw this species was at the London Wetland Centre.
Answers will be forthcoming, but for now, I can tell you that they are all members of the mallard complex , a roster of about 20 closely-related Anas -species ducks around the world. The mallard is a mighty duck indeed, successful all across its broad range from the Americas through Eurasia down into Australia and New Zealand.
The normally-shallower west side attracts all sorts of ducks and shorebirds; the east side usually offers only American Coots and Clark’s Grebes.) This lake is “standing-room-only” Nearer the shore, there were also a few Black-necked Stilts , Fulvous Whistling-Ducks , and Common Gallinules.
Scores of Black-bellied Whistling Ducks circled overhead, these vocal ducks are often hunted illegally here so it was refreshing to see so many. Black-bellied Whistling Ducks in the aftermath of the “storm” Hoping for different fortunes at a different time of day, we stayed until darkness enveloped us but still, nothing.
As reported by the fine folks at The Dodo , after Hurricane Katrina forced Katrina “Kasia” Perkowska to evacuate, she started bringing her pet Wood Duck , Scooter, to her mother-in-law’s nursing home in Mississippi. One enterprising New Orleans-area bird rescuer is doing just that. But that’s a whole ’nother rant.)
We organize all of the trending information in your field so you don't have to. Join 30+ users and stay up to date on the latest articles your peers are reading.
You know about us, now we want to get to know you!
Let's personalize your content
Let's get even more personalized
We recognize your account from another site in our network, please click 'Send Email' below to continue with verifying your account and setting a password.
Let's personalize your content