common_nature | Entries tagged with bird: duck

I've only seen one here twice before, once in the months after I moved in, and again a few years ago. Unfortunately just as this time, I had been on my way to the grocery, and I assumed I'd have time to take photos when I came home. Which I didn't because it was gone. ( Read more... )

full_metal_ox

Taken 15 May 2023, 19:13 U.S. Eastern Daylight Savings Time, at the Wright Stop Plaza(1) bus hub in downtown Dayton, Ohio.

This handsome gent was the last photo I took in Dayton before my departure for Florida, and I’m rather pleased with the role the strong contrasting lines of the paving stones and the bars of the metal bench play in the composition.

(Out of frame: the flock of English sparrows he was challenging for the rights to a popcorn spill. Also out of frame, except for the merest edge of her jacket to the right of my purse: the young lady conducting a live webcast on recovery and the Gospel from her smartphone.)

(1) The Wright Brothers’ names and likenesses are all over the Dayton area, from Wright Memorial Library to Wright State University to Dayton-Wright Brothers Airport to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base; these guys are our unofficial genii loci and patron saints.

yourlibrarian

In my last post I had pics of battling hummingbirds. Another thing they start doing is staking out the feeder and ambushing their competitors. This is a good opportunity for us to get some photos of them hanging out in the plant pots as normally they're in and out pretty quickly.

( Read more... )

yourlibrarian

We've seen at least 2 batches of goslings and 3 batches of ducklings. The geese all seem to have grown up. The ducklings seemed to disappear rapidly after birth. The geese are highly protective but also larger and better able to defend the babies. (The babies also grow bigger faster, making them less easy prey sooner).

But it's also the decision making by the female ducks. ( Read more... )

pauraque

I spotted this pair of Common Mergansers (also called Goosander in Europe) on the river yesterday. I was up on a bridge and I don't think they realized I was there, so I got some lovely close looks as they swam by.

The male has a mostly white body with a black back and a very dark green head which can look black depending on lighting. The female is gray with a pale breast and a reddish-brown head featuring a shaggy punk hairstyle. Both have a narrow red bill, used to poke around in the sediment when they dive underwater for prey.

( another photo )

pauraque

I saw this pair of American Black Ducks recently.

two brown ducks swim on a pond

Widespread in the eastern US and Canada, they're often mistaken for female or nonbreeding male Mallards, since they're the same size and shape and have similar markings. It was nice to get a good clear look at some of the differences. Their bodies are darker than the typical Mallard (though not actually black) with contrastingly pale heads. The male (with the yellow bill) has no white or curly tailfeathers and not even a smudge of green on his head. The female's bill is olive-gray with no orange on it.

( The female also helpfully displayed her wing patch when she was preening )

ysabetwordsmith

Today we went out to the lake. The first few pictures are from my yard, though.

( Read more... )

Current Mood: accomplished

lizardjay

We went back to the same park that we went to back in April, and I think we saw the same heron!

( more pics and a video )

yourlibrarian

We have seen several batches of baby ducklings in the past month. These were the first. ( Read more... )

lizardjay

(xposted to my journal)

My mom and I have been going on walks most times I visit (~every 2 weeks) and I've been accumulating a lot of pictures... these are from three separate parks in our area.

( many pics in here )

yourlibrarian

This is actually the 5th set of ducklings as we spotted another batch at a distance some weeks back, but couldn't get pictures. But these babies are definitely too small to be the same ones. ( Read more... )

yourlibrarian

Saw something amusing yesterday on the lake. The lone white duck we've dubbed Ghost Duck hung out with her sisters when growing up and then in the past months we've seen her partnered with a drake. We'd been expecting to see babies at some point, but we haven't. ( Read more... )

yourlibrarian

One of the fun things each summer is to see babies out on the lake. We've counted at least 5 batches of ducklings so far. I think this was batch 3 but not sure anymore.

( Read more... )

yourlibrarian

While on a walk recently I was briefly chased by a goose, which was a little baffling until I saw a batch of goslings near a retention pond. Overprotective much?

So when I saw two geese by our lake, seemingly standing at attention, I suspected babies might be about. ( Read more... )

yourlibrarian

( Read more... )

yourlibrarian

Some photos from the past few weeks ( Read more... )

yourlibrarian

There are lots of eggs hatching around our place, and here's a look at some of the new babies. ( Read more... )

yourlibrarian

We don't see geese around much anymore, but I was entertained by this photo, partly because one goose looks like he's levitating. ( Read more... )

yourlibrarian

Some may remember that a while back I posted a set of pics about crows keeping one another from drinking spots on the ice. As it has gotten colder at night, more of the lake has frozen over, so that the icy edge is now extended. ( Read more... )

yourlibrarian

I've mentioned before that our local ducks like to gather on a "driveway" down to the lake which is otherwise bordered by a wall. We call it "duckie beach." The other day someone decided to set up near said beach and the ducks were clearly not happy about someone invading their turf. They were all standing in the water's edge, apparently waiting to see if the fisherman was going to move. Since he didn't they eventually swam and then flew away.

( Read more... )

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Common Nature

wonder and joy and mystery in everyday things

Entries tagged with bird: duck

Visiting Swan

Mallard drake at the Wright Stop Plaza bus hub.

Tiny and Tall

Parenting Ducklings

Common Mergansers

American Black Ducks

Lake Pictures

birds and deer in the park

Fresh From the Egg

birds and turtles

Varied Critters

Duck Divide

Ducklings on the Lake

First Goslings of the Season

Potential Duck Nest

Ducks, Herons and Sunsets

Goslings and Ducklings

Geese and Ducks

A Land of Ice and Snow - Bird View

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