Florida Gulf Coast Creations

Tag: Duck

Lake Morton Waterfowl
Lakeland, FL is aptly named with over 30 lakes within the city limits. The best lake for photography always seems to be Lake Morton. It’s famous for its population of swans. But the main reason we like Lake Morton is for the wood ducks and several migrating ducks that visit every year. It’s a nice easy walk of about 1 mile to go completely around the lake. But it can take over an hour because of all the photo opportunities.
Mallard Drake Resting Peacefully with His Head Tucked Under His Wing
A few more pictures from this journey are featured below. For a larger selection of photos, go to the galleries listed.
February 15, 2022
Diving Ducks
Tis the season for our northern visitors. I’m not talking about the mass migration of “snowbirds”. I’m talking about waterfowl. We have huge numbers of ducks just about everywhere. One small lake behind Costco has become the winter home for ring-necked ducks and lesser scaup. They look very similar. The main differentiating feature is the bill. The ring-necked duck ironically has a white ring on their blue-gray bill while the scaup’s bill is completely light blue. The males’ heads have an iridescence element that changes color in different light. At times their heads have a purple shimmer and other times they shine with a dark green look.
Male Lesser Scaup Duck with a Purple Head Looking Back
The ducks like the Costco lake because it has a good crop of snails which they devour quickly. If we’re near one of the snail beds, the birds are easy to approach and photograph.
A few more pictures from this journey are featured below. For a larger selection of photos, go to the galleries listed.
- Diving Ducks
February 18, 2021
Green-winged Teal

I mentioned in my previous post that we found a very large flock of green-winged teal ducks on Thursday. Finding the green-wings completes the “teal trifecta” for me for 2021. There are 3 species of teal in North America – blue-winged, green-winged and cinnamon. Two weeks ago we found a cinnamon teal which is a rare sight this far east. There were blue-winged teal with the cinnamon teal. We see the blue-wings frequently. Although green-winged teal are fairly common in this area, they’re often tucked away on ponds or marshes that are inaccessible except by boat.
Male Green-winged Teal Watches Across the Water
These were the first green-winged teal I’ve seen in over 30 years. They are beautiful little ducks. I’m hoping to get back out and attempt to get closer to them. If I’m successful, you’ll see the results right here.

January 23, 2021
Cinnamon Teal
This past weekend I had the opportunity to photograph a cinnamon teal. It’s a bird I have never seen in the wild. Cinnamon teal are seldom spotted east of the Mississippi River so finding one here in Florida was a real treat! They are beautiful birds, especially in flight where you can see their light blue wing patches and green speculums. Unfortunately, this cinnamon teal was feeding on a grass bed in the middle of a small lake which made photographing a challenge. These images are heavily cropped which sacrifices detail.
Cinnamon Teal Male Chewing Grass on a Pond
Cinnamon teal like to feed by skimming for plants right under the surface so most of the time their head is under water. When they come up for a breath, it’s only for a moment before they shove their head back down again to return to feeding. Thank goodness for digital cameras because I couldn’t afford the film and processing to capture this bird!
A few more pictures from this journey are featured below. For a larger selection of photos, go to the galleries listed.
- Dabbling Ducks
January 14, 2021
Rarely Seen Birds

It seems each year we are seeing more birds that are seldom seen in Florida. Most of the birds are typically found much farther west. This year has been no exception. A few of the uncommon sightings include a black-chinned hummingbird, black scoter ducks, ash-throated flycatcher, scissor-tailed flycatcher and scaly-breasted munias. We even had a juvenile munia visit our millet feeder last week. Thanks to my good friend Art Nadelman for help with the identification!
Female Black Scoter Duck Riding the Waves

January 6, 2021
Happy New Year
It’s been a while since the last post. And there has been a lot happening. I’ll break out the specifics in separate posts, but I wanted to report that the migration is in full force. We have been seeing numerous visitors for several weeks including many species of ducks. The robins have been everywhere. Some of the migrants have continued south and will return in the spring. Like the snowbirds, others will stay here usually until March before heading back north.
Townsend’s Warbler Climbing an Oak Tree
A few more pictures from this journey are featured below. For a larger selection of photos, go to the galleries listed.
- Songbirds
- Warblers
January 3, 2021
Mergansers
The hooded mergansers have begun arriving for the winter. We often find them on small retention ponds around the area until February. They are typically wary but this flock of around 15 birds found a small little pond to their liking next to a very busy intersection. I seldom get an opportunity for a decent photo of a bird that is sharply backlit, but the reflections worked this time.
Female Hooded Merganser Swimming in a Pond with Backlighting
For a larger selection of photos, go to the galleries listed.
- Mergansers
November 30, 2020
Wood Ducks
This past Friday we visited Lake Morton in Lakeland, FL. It was a great day for photos. We saw several beautiful wood ducks and mallards. There were a few ring-necked ducks that have arrived from their northern summer homes. The lake is famous for its flock of mute swans and black swans. For anyone visiting central Florida, I would highly recommend a stop at Lake Morton.
Mute Swan Swims Toward the Shore
A few more pictures from this journey are featured below. For a larger selection of photos, go to the galleries listed.
October 26, 2020

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