10,000 Birds

MARCH 12, 2014

I’ve heard many people ask “why don’t they call it the Ring-billed Duck?” But if you look closely, you can see the dark violet band around the neck of the male Ring-necked Duck ( Aythya collaris ). Birding Birds diving ducks ducks Ring-necked Duck' Birding Birds diving ducks ducks Ring-necked Duck'

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Ducks Wildlife Rights Birds 227

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 3, 2014

Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge in Titusville, Florida, is an amazing destination to see a wide variety of wildlife including, of course, birds! And while I didn’t lead any field trips to the refuge this year during the Space Coast Birding and Wildlife Festival I did visit the refuge on a couple of occasions.

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Wildlife Florida Birds Ducks 265

10,000 Birds

MARCH 14, 2011

Then, at 6 PM, as the sun disappeared completely over the horizon, the ducks on the pond started massing on the west end of the pond, with many small flocks from all over the pond flying in to the west end until it was basically covered with ducks. Dominic Gendron Mar 14th, 2011 at 8:43 pm Wow thats a lot of ducks!

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Ducks 2011 Jamaica Deer 190

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 17, 2012

There really isn’t much to say about the Mottled Duck. It is one of several species in the Mallard -complex of ducks, along with American Black Duck , Mexican Duck , and quite a few others. Essentially the Mottled Duck is the southern analog to the American Black Duck. Mottled Ducks.

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Ducks Illinois Florida Mississippi 189

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 19, 2011

Our job is to fly above the Mississippi River at a about 120 feet going about 100 mph and count and ID ducks. The birds in red are Canvasbacks, the birds in blue are Ring-necked Ducks and the birds in yellow are Gadwall. Here’s an example of what we see. Can you make out any species in the above photo?

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Mississippi Ducks Minnesota Science 246

10,000 Birds

MARCH 27, 2014

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.

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Florida Ducks New Zealand Feral 244

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 13, 2019

Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) attempts to calculate the economic contribution of National Wildlife Refuge visitation to local communities. Rather, birding and other wildlife observation ( e.g., photography) are lumped together as “non-consumptive” uses of a refuge. Every few years, the U.S. billion for local communities.

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Wildlife Maryland San Francisco Minnesota 277

10,000 Birds

JUNE 30, 2013

A mockup of what a Wildlife Conservation Stamp might look like. Duck hunting is big business in the United States. Just ask whoever greenlit the A&E reality show Duck Dynasty , about a family that sells duck calls.) But what about those of us who’d rather just look at ducks than shoot them?

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Wildlife Jordan Ducks United States 205

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 10, 2014

I was at the Blue Heron Wetlands in Titusville, Florida, during the Space Coast Birding and Wildlife Festival hoping to connect with a Purple Gallinule that the field trip I co-led with Laura Erickson failed to find. I knew that I could count the introduced Muscovy Ducks in front of me but did I want to? And why is it still there?

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Feral Florida Ducks Texas 207

10,000 Birds

MAY 7, 2019

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.

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Ducks Wildlife Texas Bald Eagle 128

10,000 Birds

MARCH 9, 2011

What I am getting at here is that I have seen lots and lots of Ruddy Ducks at Jamaica Bay but never one that looked like this particular individual. She was essentially cream-colored, much lighter than the typical female Ruddy Duck. Anyway, enjoy the images and keep an eye out for odd ducks! Go check it out! Get yours today!

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Ducks 2011 Jamaica Deer 165

10,000 Birds

JULY 28, 2016

Since we first launched the Wildlife Conservation Stamp Project, we’ve made our case to thousands of birders and photographers. We’ve worked to change the dialogue around the Duck Stamp in public discussions and meetings, and we’ve reached out to Refuge officials and conservation officers to argue for the viability of this concept.

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Wildlife San Francisco Legislation Ducks 189

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 15, 2012

The Green-winged Teal ( Anas crecca carolinensis ) is North America’s smallest dabbling duck and taken by hunters second only to the Mallard. Here is a photo of one of the females I encountered at Delevan National Wildlife Refuge. Click on photos for full sized images. www.youtube.com/watch?

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Ducks North America Hunters California 187

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 29, 2014

That will be the opening day of the 18th Annual Space Coast Birding and Wildlife Festival in Titusville, Florida. Ditto for the feral Muscovy Ducks , though they are a bit less nice. Destinations festivals Florida Space Coast Birding and Wildlife Festival' I certainly can’t wait for 21 January 2015! But it will in January!

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2015 Wildlife Florida Honduras 233

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 13, 2012

If you ever wonder why so many American birders leaven their love of nature with a little self-loathing, look no further than the National Survey of Fishing, Hunting, and Wildlife-Associated Recreation , which the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service conducts every five years or so. It’s that damnable Duck Stamp. Freeloaders 2.

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Hunters 2006 Ducks Wildlife 261

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 25, 2015

I found this pair among the Northern Shovelers at Delevan National Wildlife Refuge and watched as they perched atop a log for awhile, preening and scratching. I’m posting this video I shot at Delevan NWR in case you haven’t seen these elegant ducks in action. Dapper indeed! www.youtube.com/watch?v=HcgOFQtcyAo.

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2006 Ducks Wildlife New York 250

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 28, 2011

And it looks even better in my hands while I dream about a visit to regions of Brazil I had scarcely heard of before being provided with a review copy of the first volume of the Wildlife Conservation Society Birds of Brazil.* He lives in Forest Hills with Daisy, their son, Desmond Shearwater, and their two indoor cats, Hunter and B.B.

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Brazil Wildlife 2011 Deer 241

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 18, 2012

Colusa National Wildlife Refuge is part of the Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge Complex in California’s Central Valley. This complex consists of five national wildlife refuges (NWR) and three wildlife management areas (WMA) that comprise over 35,000 acres of wetlands and uplands. I was not disappointed!

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Geese Wildlife Sacramento South Dakota 179

10,000 Birds

MAY 1, 2011

I don’t know if I am just really lucky this year or more observant but I found another oddball Ruddy Duck recently. The dark-cheeked Ruddy Duck was in the same spot as the leucistic female – Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge’s East Pond – and I even spotted and digiscoped it from the same vantage point.

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Ducks Jamaica Wildlife Birds 150

10,000 Birds

MARCH 15, 2016

He has visited more than 40 National Wildlife Refuges in 20 states and frequently visits NWRs in his travels, most recently Buenos Aires NWR in southern Arizona. The focus on Malheur is and was appropriate, but we should not lose sight of the significance of the entire National Wildlife Refuge System. The combination is potent.

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Wildlife Grizzly Bear Puerto Rico Alaska 190

10,000 Birds

MARCH 3, 2016

Today is the United Nations World Wildlife Day, a time to celebrate and raise awareness of the living world around us. Actually, when I started to bird, my second ever duck, after the Mallard, was a Ruddy Shelduck! Soon, I found three large ducks on the water, but as soon as I come closer, they took flight, like proper wild ducks.

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Wildlife Tigers Asia Europe 189

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 8, 2012

I get one called The Wildlife Professional for the Wildlife Society, that’s put out for wildlife technicians who work in the field. And can I point out how weird it is to see the word “weapon” applied to wildlife sciences. So, I was excited to go through my new job’s trade publications.

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Industry Wildlife Coyotes Battery 182

10,000 Birds

MARCH 17, 2011

It won’t be long before the drake Ruddy Ducks are all in their breeding finery and doing their displays for the females so I thought I would take the time this past weekend to try to get some decent shots of the males that are still in basic plumage. Jochen Mar 17th, 2011 at 11:11 am To me, they’ll always be the Rubbery Ducks.

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Ducks 2011 New York New York City 149

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 13, 2014

Herons and raptors and rails and gulls and ducks and cranes and jays and owls and alligators are all awaiting me – and you – at the Space Coast Birding and Wildlife Festival. Blue-winged Teal like these at Meritt Island National Wildlife Refuge in 2012 certainly count as good birds. You are going, right?

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Wildlife Tampa Alligators 2012 196

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 4, 2015

As I always do on the way home, following a short visit to the San Francisco Bay Area, I take in at least one of the National Wildlife Refuges (NWR) found in the Sacramento Valley. California is blessed with 51 NWRs and Wildlife Management Areas (WMA), second only to North Dakota with 77. Click on photos for full sized images.

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Wildlife San Francisco Sacramento North Dakota 162

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 27, 2017

About four years ago I first wrote about the Pink-headed Duck , a charming species related to the pochards (although how, exactly, is up for grabs, like so much duck taxonomy.) Now Global Wildlife Conservation is out to get some fresh evidence and hopefully re-discover the species, which was officially last seen in the 1949.

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Ducks Myanmar Elephants Wildlife 136

10,000 Birds

APRIL 3, 2013

On the less feel-good front, ducks have been taking an awful beating lately. Insert your Peking Duck jokes here.) Some ducks have succumbed to the oil, while others have been rushed to rehab facilities. Some ducks have succumbed to the oil, while others have been rushed to rehab facilities. And here in the U.S.,

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Ostriches Penguins Ducks Arkansas 148

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 29, 2014

The video above showing the pair bonding and precopulatory behavior of the Northern Shoveler ( Anas clypeata ) was shot from the photography bind at Colusa National Wildlife Refuge , one of the refuges of the Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge Complex in Northern California. Do you enjoy National Wildlife Refuges?

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Sacramento Defenders Of Wildlife Wildlife Rehabilitation Ducks 179

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 22, 2014

Back in January, when I was enjoying my attendance at the Space Coast Birding and Wildlife Festival down in Florida, I had an enchanting encounter with our national bird , the Bald Eagle. And where there is a lot of wildlife there will also be other wildlife that shows up to eat the original wildlife.

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Bald Eagle Eagles Wildlife Florida 264

10,000 Birds

MAY 3, 2011

The haunting call of the West Indian Whistling Duck has long been a sound synonymous with the ever-shrinking wetlands of the Caribbean. The whistling duck call carries with it the crimes of big business, the failures of governments and the ignorance of irresponsible hunters. They are also the rarest. Until recently.

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Antigua and Barbuda Puerto Rico Dominican Republic Jamaica 246

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 11, 2016

As a birder, this 72 minute documentary film about the Duck Stamp Contest didn’t accomplish what I was hoping it might – get people excited about the Duck Stamp, or at least wildlife conservation. The film follows several contestants on their journey to win what is described as the “Olympics of Wildlife Art.”

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Ducks 2016 Hunters Wildlife 109

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 5, 2011

It took long enough but I have finally seen an Eurasian Wigeon in my home borough, at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge’s East Pond to be exact. It was nice to add bird number 284 to my Queens life list , though it seems kind of absurd that it has taken so long to see one of the most common of the uncommon ducks in Queens.

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Jamaica Ducks Geese Wildlife 222

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 14, 2011

Feeding birds is generally regarded as a harmless past-time, a wholesome way for people to share nature and enjoy wildlife with the family. Sometimes people find themselves the victims of ill-informed home owners associations that have a phobic view of wildlife. How do you know when you are a little too involved with feeding birds?

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Bald Eagle Deer Minnesota 2000 262

10,000 Birds

MARCH 14, 2023

National Wildlife Refuges protect critical habitat and provide some of the best birding locations in the United States. Of course, birders can support NWRs by buying federal duck stamps. And, in the case of PILT, it shows how the federal government attempts to be a good neighbor, even if it doesn’t pay taxes.

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District of Columbia Puerto Rico Rhode Island Wildlife 147

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 12, 2019

Most of the estuaries of Puget Sound in Washington State have been developed, but one of the few that remain is the Nisqually River Delta, which was protected as a National Wildlife Refuge in 1974. 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.

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Washington Portland Birds Geese 266

10,000 Birds

MARCH 5, 2024

Birders know that some of the finest birding locations in the country are on federal land , which include national parks , wildlife refuges , forests , monuments , and seashores , among others. The eleven largest national wildlife refuges are also in Alaska, including Arctic NWR and Yukon Delta NWR , each more than 19 million acres.

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Virgin Islands Alaska United States Nevada 257

10,000 Birds

APRIL 21, 2016

In 2015 a Federal Duck Stamp Task Force was convened under the auspices of the Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies (AFWA) consisting of seventeen individuals. b) Recommendation : Work with all groups to identify synergistic opportunities for promoting broad conservation benefits of the Duck Stamp. 1) Action : U.S.

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Ducks Hunters Hunting Wildlife 100