Bird Weekly – Photo Challenge – Ducks and Geese

Posted on July 3, 2020 by

43 Comments

A pair of Cinnamon Teals seen at Henderson Birding Preserve near Las Vegas, NV.

Welcome to the fourth Bird Weekly Photo Challenge. Week #4 challenge is Ducks and Geese. Upcoming challenges can be found on my Bird Weekly Challenge Page.

The feature image if you can see it is a pair of Cinnamon Teals taken at Henderson Birding Preserve in Henderson, Nevada. Not too far from Las Vegas and one of our favorite birding spots when we visit there.

Muscovy Domestic

This feral domesticated Muscovy Duck is quite commonly seen all over the United States. The truly wild species are found in south Texas and points south. It is one of the oldest domesticated fowl species in the world. The male is the largest duck in North America, but the female is half his size. These ducks have sharp claws. The female will lay 8-15 eggs which she will defend and raise the ducklings. In addition, she may raise babies from a Black-bellied Whistling Duck who snuck their eggs in with her eggs.

Black-bellied Whistling Ducks

Black-bellied Whistling Ducks are fun to see. You can hear the whistle as they approach when flying in the air. They have a pink bill and a long silhouette which make them resemble geese and swans, rather than ducks. They are year round residents in most of Florida. They can be found in southern Georgia, South Carolina and parts of Texas, Arizona and Mexico.

Blue-winged Teals – Butts in the Air

The Blue-winged teal migrates over long distances. They are among the latest ducks to migrate northward in spring and one of the first to migrate southward in the fall. I love watching them dive with their butts in the air. They can be seen in most of North America.

Domestic Goose

Domestic Geese can be down right mean. The photos above are from the cemetery and the geese were relaxing by the pond and pretty chilled. The photos below are from my ex-husband’s yard in Brandon, Florida a few years ago. They were quite aggressive and chased us out of the yard. I think his wife at the time told them to do it! She’s an ex now too, so I’m the one with the last laugh.

Redhead

The above photo is a male Redhead, but the female is the queen of depositing her eggs in other species nests like other Redheads, Mallard, Canvasback, Northern Pintail, Gadwall, Northern Shoveler, Ruddy Duck, American Wigeon and even the Northern Harrier. Sneaky little things, aren’t they? This could stand to reason why you see different species socializing together. The male is quite dramatic when courting. He will give his most impressive “head throw” by bending almost in half with the neck bent far over the back until his head touches his tail. Then his neck snaps forward while giving a loud catlike mee-ow call.

Common Merganser

The word “merganser” comes from Latin meaning “plunging goose”. The Common Merganser is often called sawbills, fish ducks or goosanders. Their young will leave the nest hole within a day or two after they have hatched. The chicks, unable to fly, will leap from the entrance of the nest and tumble to the bottom of the forest floor. The mother, like the female above will protect the chicks, but they have to catch their own food, generally aquatic insects. They will start catching fish at about 12 days old. This photo was taken at String Lake in Grand Teton National Park while we were kayaking.

Canada Goose

So far, there are at least 11 species of Canada Goose. The geese get smaller the farther north you go, so here in Florida they are quite large. The fourth smallest within the species have been given their own species name: the Cackling Goose. The Canada Goose used to only be seen during migration, but they have taken the “snow bird” meaning to the next level and have become permanent residents in Florida.

Wood Duck

The Wood Duck is the most colorful duck of all the species. They live in wooded swamps where they nest in holes of trees or in nest boxes put up around lakes. They have long claws so they can grip bark and perch on branches. They are the only North American duck that will regularly produce two broods per year.

Until next week…Week #5 – Feathers of Blue.

Category: birds, Birds Weekly Photo Challenge, nature, photo challenge, photography, travel, Uncategorized, waterTags: , , , , , , , , , ,

43 Comments on “Bird Weekly – Photo Challenge – Ducks and Geese”

  4. An excellent overhaul of ducks and geese. Have you ever visit Pahranagat NWR/ If not, I would suggest a visit there. It is a minor refuge of about 5,000 acres and an important stop for birds migrating to the south in the fall and on there return journey in the spring. We volunteer there and some of our fun wildlife experiences occur there. Many of our birds and wildlife were taken there.

    Liked by 1 person

    • Thank you! No I haven’t been there but I would sure love to. Unfortunately, I don’t know when we will travel out west again in the near future with the pandemic continuing. Maybe next year. Thank you for the info and next time we head that way we can add it to our agenda. 😊

      Liked by 1 person

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  7. Beautiful birds and great shots! I really like the contrast with the male Redhead with the light blue water.

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    • Thank you very much. It was hard because I have so much! I guess I will be doing this challenge for a long time and eventually repeat so I can get more species in my posts. 😍

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    • I feel the same way seeing everyone’s posts each week. Love seeing what is the same and what is different. I loved those salt and pepper shakers of yours!

      Liked by 1 person

    • Thank you for your kind words. I guess it depends on where you are. The white domestic geese are often mean and aggressive which are the ones I took in Tampa. The closeups that I took were at the cemetery just down the road from my house here in Jacksonville and they are very docile and seem sweet. 🙂

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