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I wasn’t having any luck at all though I was enjoying the typical assortment of wetland species that make we New York birders a bit jealous of our southern compatriots. I knew that I could count the introduced Muscovy Ducks in front of me but did I want to? feral Muscovy Duck at Blue Heron Wetlands, Titusville, Florida.
home about advertise archives birds conservation contact galleries links reviews subscribe Browse: Home / Birds / Manky Muscovy Ducks Manky Muscovy Ducks By Mike • March 2, 2011 • 6 comments Tweet Share The Muscovy Duck ( Cairina moschata ) attracts more attention than most ducks, at least in North America.
It is also known for the 500 exotic species of animals and plants that now call the Sunshine State home. Exotic species are animals that did not historically occur in Florida. One such species is the familiar mallard (Anas platyrhynchos). Mottled Ducks apparently genetically intact.
We can, of course, count wild, native, species. We can count vagrant species that made it to the area we are in under their own power. We can count introduced species that have met the criteria of the “Bird Police” for the area to which they are introduced. There are lots of birds we can’t count.
The haunting call of the West Indian Whistling Duck has long been a sound synonymous with the ever-shrinking wetlands of the Caribbean. But, as with so many other species, these birds have been left to do their own whistle blowing. West Indian Whistling Ducks are the largest of the eight different whistling duckspecies.
The Feral Pigeon has many virtues to admire, but who is going to brag about encountering one of those? We saw a lot of great birds but only one truly rare one, a species that everyone on that trip will long remember. Corey’s Best Bird of the Weekend, on the other hand, was a relatively common diving duck in the Americas.
For once, eBird gives a good description of the Asian Glossy Starling, calling it a “Fierce-looking, large songbird” As are humans, this species is fairly urbanized – it “sometimes enters urban areas to roost, e.g. in Singapore” (HBW). Lucky ducks. “Odd, me?”
The Feral Pigeon and the House Sparrow came the day after, when in the lush green oasis of the Sanitas nursery tea garden I noticed the announcement of the next meeting of the Botswana Bird Club. Under that impossibly blue sky of Africa. Waders were represented by Kittlitz’s Plover , Ruff , Wood Sandpiper , Avocet and Black-winged Stilt.
Florida is a great place to bird in January because in addition to the year-round species there are a host of birds that winter in the relatively balmy climate that Florida has in winter. Ditto for the feral Muscovy Ducks , though they are a bit less nice. Get my Florida list to 180 species.
Not how many bird species , but how many bird individuals. The Wagbachniederung is reknown for its waterfowl, shorebirds, and good breeding populations of several species that are very localized in Germany. I want to know – just roughly – how many birds I have seen in my life.
Now, some species don’t require the sun as they always look the same. Like Tufted Ducks, or coots. A decisively non-ruddy Ruddy Duck, a rare winter visitor from nearby feral populations. Shapes of grey count = 12. The master bedroom of Mr. Grey: A lake on an overcast day. Shapes of grey count = 19.
These waste water treatment plants offer the perfect environment to bird-life due to the fact that water is constantly available and is fenced for further protection from feral animals. To a birder these Poo Ponds offer the perfect place to see a large number of species in a relatively small area close to towns.
Does the word define a species within country terms, regional terms etc? Is the term defined at the sub-species or full species level in terms of classification? The species must be listed as a separate, full species by both of the most widely used ornithological bird lists, Sibley/Monroe and Clements.
Defining Belgrade bird specialties is the hard part – there is no defined criterion, beside attractiveness which often comes from how uncommon some species is. E.g., a few weeks ago I guided a British couple around Belgrade, visited about four major sites and found more than 60 species. Ferruginous Duck – year round.
In front of us, the river is two miles wide… and it is paved with birds: smaller groups of Greater White-fronted and Greylag Geese , numerous Mute Swans and Mallards , plus Eurasian Teals , Gadwalls , Common Pochards , a few Ferruginous and Tufted Ducks , Common Goldeneyes and several Smews. warns me of two locally rare Bean Geese.
Nonetheless, I did my best and ended up with seventy-nine species in the just over five full days we spent there, a list slightly padded by visiting Oatland Island Wildlife Center, about fifteen minutes west of Tybee proper, one afternoon. How did I find so many species? I hope not! They are everywhere! It didn’t get any.
During the early 1990s, rumours surrounding the occurrence of a few Egyptian Geese in far north-western Germany emerged, the result of an increasing and spreading Dutch feral population. Why, then, aren’t we seeing vanishing numbers of our native ducks and grebes as soon as the geese move in? Just a peculiarity.
Every March, hope springs anew that I’ll cross paths with one of these feral fluffballs, but as April ends, so do another year’s delirious dreams. Driving along ice-choked inlets off Lake Ontario, admiring Mute Swans and scaup species, my commitment to nail this nemesis never wavered. Enjoy the details and proof here.
149 checklists were submitted, accounting for 465 species. You may notice a few non-commital “sp” entries and/or a few domestic/feral/hybrid forms. Wood Duck (Aix sponsa). Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha). American Black Duck (Anas rubripes). Ring-necked Duck (Aythya collaris).
I had just a split-second glimpse of this species – my only second ever – yet immediately knew what is it, but I was driving through a snowbound countryside and had another car behind me, therefore I stopped a good 50 metres later to eBird it. Ferruginous Duck – Aythya nyroca. Tufted Duck – Aythya fuligula.
Every single species, even the European Starlings above, count as one bird on the year’s checklist. Even a later visit with Desi in tow (to give mom a break) was fruitless, though I did increase my year list with the hordes of wintering ducks wintering on the pond. What could I do but enjoy the close ducks and try not to freeze?
But come spring, an even luckier few may even find a fellow survivor of their own kind with whom to start a family, unwittingly causing contentious debates among birders about the countability of established feral populations in the process. What’s in a name?
They contributed 150 lists accounting for 1032 species and more than 36,000 individual birds. Thus 100 species were missed by the time he woke up and noticed that eBird had reset the counters at midnight(do you guys have nothing better to do?). White-faced Whistling-Duck – Dendrocygna viduata. Wood Duck – Aix sponsa.
There was evidence of the mussels that would be a source of food for many species in the receding water line. The Silver Gulls, Caspian, Gull-billed and Whiskered Terns were further away and the variety of ducks was incredible. Feral pigs. There were also Australian Pratincoles on the dry scrub around the middle of the day.
The Purple Swamp-hen ( Porphyrio porphyrio ) I turned south, walking past large groups of picnickers which were being patrolled by Australian White Ibis , one of the species of ibis also known as the Sacred Ibis. Rounding off the waterbirds were Australian Pelicans, Eurasian Coots , the iconic Black Swans and feral geese.
There is a water trough for the dairy cows, but sometimes the Pacific Black Ducks take advantage of the trough! Pacific Black Ducks. I always approach the bridge slowly to see what bird species are below and around the area. There is a family of feral foxes that I often encounter near Bennison Creek. Tiger Snake.
Whenever possible we have used our Christmas Day to see how many bird species we can get in our local area and this year was no different. We usually try and plan a route prior to the day with particular bird species in mind and also taking into account the tidal range for the day. We rarely see them so close to town.
Ducks were also well represented by Pacific Black Ducks and Australian Wood Duck. Black-fronted Dotterels , Magpie-larks and Willie Wagtails ran along the muddy edges where there was evidence of feral pigs. Australian Wood Duck. Nourangie Waterhole. Spotted Bowerbird.
I am certainly not complaining though, as a repetitive working routine that will lead to around 500 species a year is better than the working routine I had in the late 2000′s, where seeing more than 250 species a year would have been extraordinary. See more than 500 species. Feral Pigeon Columba livia f.
Feral Turkey are also quite common. 4) Sacred Kingfisher Sacred Kingfisher ( Halcyon sancta) These little guys, a ntaive species, can be very common – in a three hour trip two weekends ago I counted 21 without really trying, around seven times as many Common Kingfishers as I have seen in my entire life in England.
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