Tag: #DucksOfNewYork

Are You Lost?

The black-bellied whistling-duck lives along the coasts of Mexico, Central and South America and small slivers of Texas and Arizona. Which location did I see this duck? None of the above. I saw this in New York.

From All About Birds- The shaded areas show where they normally are.

According to All About Birds these are the locations these ducks should be in the shaded areas of the map.

Are You Lost? Black-Bellied Whistling-Duck- They spent a lot of time with their heads under the water. They eat grasses and and a variety of aquatic animals including snails and insects. All About Birds says they typically forage at night. They dabble in ponds or forage in fields.

It is going back and forth between a river and a pond like area. It is not alone but with a few others of its kind. Why is it here? Did a storm blow it all the way up here? Is this a result of a dwindling food in its normal spots? Are birds loosing their directional sense? Do they have wanderlust? Is it getting too hot in the areas they normally are? Did someone capture these or buy them to have in the US and they successfully staged a group escape? It is a mystery.

Are you lost?

If they nest up here, nest predators would be raccoons and rat snakes. Great horned owls could take the adults. There maybe a great horned owl family nearby and I almost stepped on a what looked to be a black rat snake. Being near a river, there are bald eagles close by.

Are you lost?

These pictures were taken from a road with a zoom lens and were cropped. I will not go where I am not supposed to be. I do not go on private land without permission. It was a cloudy, dark day. We have had a lot of those. Maybe in the future if these creatures are still there, I can capture them in better light. Expect the unexpected. Happy Thursday!

Red Breasted Merganser 2

I got another chance to see this bird this week. It was about a mile south of where I saw it last. It is a juvenile male red-breasted merganser or a female.

It came to the mouth of a creek emptying into the Hudson River, but it originally stayed on the bank opposite me at quite a distance. Then it flew off.

Some geese started hanging out close to me for a while. It flew back, but this time closer to where I was. Not as close as I would want, but I will take it. My neck of the woods is in this type of merganser’s migration area. Where I took this photo appears to be above the area non breeding mergansers of this type would stay. Their breeding area is in the north of Canada. I have not seen any adult male mergansers around.

You never know what you will see. Happy Easter if you celebrate it!

Wood Ducks

I went on a long hike to a wetland area with a trail next to it on two sides. I did not know what I would see. This was private land with public access on their trails. They do have someone come by in a truck to make sure people are following the rules. The main ones are stay on the trails and keep your dog on a lead or leash. I did manage to get off a couple of quick shots on the fly of wood ducks.

Female with a baby

I found them to be like other wood ducks- skittish around people. The female and the baby mostly hid amongst the plants. This was the only shot I could get on these two.

Male by itself

The male I was able to get off a few shots. He was walking back and forth on this log. There was a big nest in a tree in the middle of the water. I am guessing it was a hawk’s nest. I am wondering if they had more ducklings, but lost them to predators. These were taken from a long distance with a zoom lens and are heavily cropped. Get out and enjoy the great outdoors, and explore new trails.