Category Archives: Duck

Duck

Wood Duck

May 29, 2023 Ellen Jennings Leave a comment

A couple of male Wood Ducks were patrolling around the recently cleared Audubon Swamp at Magnolia Plantation and Gardens. And without the cattail overgrowth they were easy to see.

Not that they came close and seemed determined to not give me the well lit shot I hoped for.

This male was following along his mate and eight or ten offspring.

A wider view, them all heading away from me in the mosquito fern covered pond.

The male was trying to encourage the group to turn back the other way, but the rest of them weren’t having it.

Magnolia Plantation and Gardens, Charleston, SC
April 15, 2023

Duck

Black-bellied Whistling Ducks are Back

April 20, 2023 Ellen Jennings 2 Comments

I had been wondering if we would see Black-bellied Whistling Ducks in South Carolina this year; they only starting migrating here from Florida in the last few years.

Last year it was May and June when I got pictures of them last year, although not at Magnolia Plantation & Gardens.

On Saturday, in the fog, there they were! Five of them just standing around in a tree in one of Magnolia’s recently cleared swamp areas.

This morning not far from the above picture these two were soaking up the sun on an Alligator Ramp.

Black-bellied Whistling Ducks on Alligator Ramp

A mother Wood Duck and her brood paddled on by.

Whistling Ducks are cavity nesters like the Wood Ducks, and may use some of the man-made nest boxes or the tree cavities recently used by the Wood Ducks.

I continued on my path and got a little closer view before these two flew off.

Magnolia Plantation and Gardens, Charleston, SC
April 15, 2023 & April 20, 2023

Duck

Hooded Merganser Trio

March 3, 2023 Ellen Jennings Leave a comment

And a photobombing turtle!

One of them was fanning her tail feathers in quite a display.

I’m assuming they are female but it is possible that one or all of them are juvenile males, not females.

A lone male Hooded Merganser was on the other side of the pond but he opted not to check this trio out up close.

Cypress Wetlands, Port Royal, SC
February 27, 2023

Duck

Hooded Merganser with Snack

March 1, 2023 Ellen Jennings 4 Comments

A big snack!

Some kind of a tadpole from the shape and way bigger than the duck’s mouth.

So big she took it for a ride before trying to swallow it, and slapped it in the water a couple of times.

Two other Mergansers that were following along so she changed course. Shortly after this image she swallowed it.

Cypress Wetlands, Port Royal, SC
February 27, 2023

Duck

Blue-winged Teals

February 8, 2023 Ellen Jennings Leave a comment

Despite the green patch seen in the middle duck here, these are Blue-winged Teals.

A slight shift of the wing and you can see just the powder blue patch, and the more distinctive white patch on the male’s head.

This trio had all been either feeding or bathing.

A good shake put the feathers to rights.

Orlando Wetlands, Christmas, FL
January 18, 2023

Orlando Wetlands Park is 1650 acres of man-made wetland designed to provide advanced treatment for reclaimed water from the City of Orlando and other local cities.

Duck

Black-bellied Whistling Ducks, More Sedate

February 3, 2023 Ellen Jennings Leave a comment

Just a short distance from the Black-bellied Whistling Duck Kerfuffle that I posted last week a few small groups were calmly hanging out.

This floating mat of vegetation was solid enough to hold up the ducks but there was water around their feet.

This fellow was doing his own thing, sort of hiding in some taller grass.

In this group, one duck was on high alert, one was sort of alert and the rest were snoozing.

Orlando Wetlands, Christmas, FL
January 18, 2023

Orlando Wetlands Park is 1650 acres of man-made wetland designed to provide advanced treatment for reclaimed water from the City of Orlando and other local cities.

Duck

Black-bellied Whistling Ducks Flying By

January 28, 2023 Ellen Jennings Leave a comment

In flight the Black-bellied Whistling Duck shows off a snazzy wing pattern.

This one opted to leave the pack and head off on his own for a bit…

showing off that bright bill, which will look more pink in breeding season.

Orlando Wetlands, Christmas, FL
January 18, 2023

Orlando Wetlands Park is 1650 acres of man-made wetland designed to provide advanced treatment for reclaimed water from the City of Orlando and other local cities.

Duck

Black-bellied Whistling Duck Kerfuffle

January 26, 2023 Ellen Jennings 3 Comments

Several groups of 10-20 Black-bellied Whistling Ducks were scattered around the first pond at Orlando Wetlands. Most of them were resting or quietly feeding. Then there was this group.

They were creating quite a flap, one or two flying straight up a few feet then wham, dropping into the middle of the group.

It seems too early in the year to be a breeding/territory thing. And there appeared to be plenty of food to go around.

A couple of Coots were unperturbed by the action.

Orlando Wetlands, Christmas, FL
January 18, 2023

Duck

Northern Shoveler Pair

January 22, 2023 Ellen Jennings 2 Comments

Ted and I just came back from six days in Florida. We had wonderful weather and photographed a wide variety of birds. There were hundreds and hundreds of Coots, and they show up in a lot of my images.