We went to Henderson to check on the Snow Geese and look for ducks and we certainly found plenty of ducks! I don't see many ducks other than Mallards and I had no idea just how many we had seen or what they were until we got back home and I downloaded the photos and looked them up. I still have a couple so-so photos that I think may contain other types that I haven't figured out yet. I know for sure we saw a total of 8 different kinds of ducks!
We started out at a field that was partly flooded that had geese and ducks both. The geese were almost all Canadas, but I can see one White-Fronted in this photo as well.
A bunch coming in for landing.
At the very back of this photo in the water are at least two Shoveler Ducks. I didn't see any others of those. The ducks in front of them are unknowns and not easy enough to see.
(Jenny says those are Teals in front of the Shovelers.)
Mostly Mallards.....but one Pintail right in the front.
Several Pintails....male and female.
This is a terrible shot, but the one in front is a Pintail and the one in back is an American Wigeon. I sure hope I get all of these correct, since I had to look up most of them!
Scaups.....don't ask me which one!
Scaup and Redhead
Redheads....poor photo but the color shows better.
Ring-Necked Ducks
3 male Canvasbacks following a female
Canvasback, Redhead, Scaup, and Mallard!
This one is hard to see, but in this "sea of Mallards" are a female and several male American Wigeons. The female is following some Mallards on the left front and the male is towards the right rear. (Jenny spotted a Gadwall in this shot...on the right side)
Mike spotted this one lone Snow Goose in a field all by itself. I fear there must be something wrong with it that it is hanging around all alone when the rest are gone.
I think it looks like the wings have some sort of problem.
They look "crossed" or something. I wonder if one wing is broken. I hope not. I always feel helpless when I see a bird with a problem.
When we got back home, I checked for my own ducks. We have a pair of Mallards staying on our lake right now. Here the female is cruising while I put out a bit of cracked corn on the edge of the lake.
The male was out there, too.
We started out at a field that was partly flooded that had geese and ducks both. The geese were almost all Canadas, but I can see one White-Fronted in this photo as well.
A bunch coming in for landing.
At the very back of this photo in the water are at least two Shoveler Ducks. I didn't see any others of those. The ducks in front of them are unknowns and not easy enough to see.(Jenny says those are Teals in front of the Shovelers.)
Mostly Mallards.....but one Pintail right in the front.
Several Pintails....male and female.
This is a terrible shot, but the one in front is a Pintail and the one in back is an American Wigeon. I sure hope I get all of these correct, since I had to look up most of them!
Scaups.....don't ask me which one!
Scaup and Redhead
Redheads....poor photo but the color shows better.
Ring-Necked Ducks
3 male Canvasbacks following a female
Canvasback, Redhead, Scaup, and Mallard!
This one is hard to see, but in this "sea of Mallards" are a female and several male American Wigeons. The female is following some Mallards on the left front and the male is towards the right rear. (Jenny spotted a Gadwall in this shot...on the right side)
Mike spotted this one lone Snow Goose in a field all by itself. I fear there must be something wrong with it that it is hanging around all alone when the rest are gone.
I think it looks like the wings have some sort of problem.
They look "crossed" or something. I wonder if one wing is broken. I hope not. I always feel helpless when I see a bird with a problem.
When we got back home, I checked for my own ducks. We have a pair of Mallards staying on our lake right now. Here the female is cruising while I put out a bit of cracked corn on the edge of the lake.
The male was out there, too.Well....that was more ducks that I've ever seen in one day....at least more kinds!
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15 comments:
We had a report of a lone Snow Goose hanging with some Canadians in Falmouth yesterday. The wing does look broken, is there a wild rescue near you? We have a couple but I don't think they'll come to visit you.
I think you hit the jackpot!
Renee: This goose is on protected conservation land and I know the conservation guys watch it regularly, so I would think they would have seen the goose.
Rose: It was interesting, but wish the light had been better. We actually have sunshine today...I should have waited a day!
Jackpot is right! That's some kind of birding luck! Four kinds of ducks in the same picture - incredible!
Each of the pictures is fantastic,yet my favorite is the female Mallard swimming through the tree reflections .I love how that looks.
Blessings,Ruth
Well, that's just 'ducky'!!! How wonderful that you got so many shots of them. Have a great day!
Your duck day was as good as my goose day that I had up in Norfolk Mary! (-:
Your small ducks in front of the Shoveler are Teal and I think I spotted a Gadwall maybe in the American Wigeon photo. It's fun to scan flocks to see what's there!
Annie: I assume these are all migrating. I certainly have never seen a bunch of mixed ones like this before.
Ruth: Thanks...it is easier to get a good photo of the ducks on my little pond at home :-)
Dorothy: It was exciting. Several were life birds for me.
Jenny: What a great eye you have! I found the Gadwall and agree with you about the Teals. I'll email you the photos of the two mystery ones we didn't figure out :-)
Great post, Mary... You really saw a ton of ducks, didn't you???? Glad you saw some 'lifers'... That is so exciting!!!!
Hugs,
Betsy
Hi Mary, lovely variety in these shits. That Jenny, she is pretty smart you know, doesn't miss much.{:)
Love the ducks. I went to my favorite duck late awhile back and the geese were plentiful there.
Wow Mary, what a terrific bunch of ducks. I've never ever seen so many different kinds in one place. Great pictures too. Some of those are new to me.
B.
Betsy: Not something I get to see every day. Very enjoyable!
Roy: Thanks...yes, Jenny is very observant! I wish these were as nice as the great photos you have had recently of ducks.
Sandy: These are all migrating, so it was great to see them.
Becky:When I took the shots I thought it was mostly Mallards, although we could tell there were some with redheads. Didn't realize how lucky we had gotten until we got home. I wish they were better photos.
I don't think I've ever seen so many different ducks in one place at one time. Thanks for identifying them for us.
Wow, so many great photos of the ducks (and geese). Looking at your "sea of Mallards" tells me those ducks know a safe place when they've found it!
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