Photo: www.huntingsociety.orgMale Wood Duck
Photo: www.huntingsociety.orgMale and female Wood Duck
Unless it's the little Bufflehead (Bucephala albeola)... a flashy black and white sensation, who returned to the shores of Lily Pond, just yesterday (last season, they stayed for several weeks, but did not nest here). The showy male is accompanied, everywhere he swims, by the darker, more compact female. She sports a white cheek spot and white wing patch. At 13-15" long, these fast-moving ducks are constantly diving (even during yesterday's mini snowstorm) and certainly deserve any compliment I pay them...
Photo: Terry Spivey, USDA Forestry Service, Bugwood.orgMale Bufflehead Duck
Photo: Terry Spivey, USDA Forestry Service, Bugwood.orgFemale Bufflehead with ducklings
Needless to say, the appearance of these six ducks is spring's best gift, to date. The resident Mallards are handsome and amusing (and I'm proud of "my" Mallards' behavior and the peace that reigns between all these species), but for now, at least, it's "Move over Mallards and make room for the 'Drop-dead Gorgeous!' "
©Deb Lambert 2008
©Deb Lambert 2008
6 comments:
they are sooo pretty! wow, what a beautiful sight that must have been.
cooper is sitting here browsing blogs with me from my lap and wanted to know if he could help Lucy-Maude bark at them and try to look all big and bad. ;)
Lisa - Tell Cooper that although Lucy-Maude is aware of the all our backyard ducks, but they're so far down the hill in Lily Pond, that she doesn't bark at them (except when they fly so low over our yard that I have to "duck").
However, because I'm always shooing away crows, grackles and starlings, she's very much in favor of barking at these. In fact, she's learned their names - especially "grackles." If I say "those darned grackles," she's at the door, in bird-dog mode, ready to flush them out.
So, short answer is that Cooper's vocal services would be welcome, during squirrel and nuisance bird patrols... and to keep unfamiliar humans from walking past her yard.
Oh, and Lucy's thinking this might be a good topic for her blog (dog's eye view), if she can ever log in on the keyboard... seems her mom is racing with writing deadlines, again.
we're talking ducks here...
so male Mandarin is a dapper little chap. And the Harlequin is a bit of a looker.
Hi Deb! Several years ago, I began calling my husband "Mr. Wood Duck House" because that was what he was building... all the time, for everyone that had a pond!
Do you have one on Lily Pond? Every Winter he and some friends clean out the houses (they can walk on the ice to get to them). Then they can tell if a brood was hatched or not in the box.
They are "drop-dead" gorgeous. Someone should write a song... ;-)
Pete - You're absolutely right about those little cuties, but of the ducks that visit Lily Pond, these two have been the most outstanding.
I'm always amazed at the diverse wildlife you photograph, especially the many duck species.
There is another very large fresh water pond nearby, and during two consecutive autumns, I found two male Mandarins swimming about with Coots, Canada geese and Mallards. They're supposedly "accidentals" around here. I've never seen the Harlequin in this area.
Shady - I'd love to mount Wood Duck houses, but I've got that sheer 40' drop, between my yard and the shore... in one gigantic step, I'd take the express route to the swamp. When I lived next door, the slope was manageable - I spent hours down there, as a kid, watching crayfish, frogs, turtles, ducks, muskrats and all the wildlife that was attracted to the area.
I don't think any of the neighbors mounted boxes. In fact, I've never seen anybody out enjoying their backyard wildlife around here.
I'm so glad to hear about your Wood Duck experiences - how thoughtful of your husband to build all those houses!
Update... As of yesterday, my two Wood Duck couples have been joined by two bachelor males. The six of them swim about together, while the Mallards float in the center, watching them like they're some sort of oddity. One of the little females swam close to a male Mallard and he craned his neck at her, bobbing his head up and down.
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