Florida Gulf Coast Creations

Tag: Ducks

  • A Couple of Recent Trips

    A Couple of Recent Trips

    Last week Pam and I took a quick trip over to Lakeland to meet up with an old friend from Canada who spends the winters with his wife and dogs in Florida. We met him at Lake Morton, which is one of our favorite bird spots in the region. It was a beautiful sunny day and there were a lot of ducks present. We only saw a couple of wood ducks, which was a little disappointing, but there were several ringed-neck ducks and a stunning male redhead duck that provided some great photo opportunities.

    Male Redhead Duck Slowly Swimming Past
    Male Redhead Duck Slowly Swimming Past

    Lake Morton is also known for its population of swans, and we saw several mute swans and black swans. There were even some new black swan cygnets in the breeding pens. It was a good day for pictures and to catch up with a friend. On the way home we got to eat lunch at Cheddar’s, which is one of favorite restaurants. After a delicious meal, we headed over to Plant City to pick up a flat of fresh strawberries. Yum! Just a fun day all around.

    Black Swan Cygnets Resting
    Black Swan Cygnets Resting

    A few days later we headed to another one of our favorite bird spots in Sarasota. The Celery Fields nature preserve is a designated Audubon sanctuary and is home to a large variety of birds. One of the highlights of the morning was photographing the nanday parakeets at the feeders.

    Nanday Parakeet Finishing Up Drink
    Nanday Parakeet Finishing Up a Drink

    We’ve added new photos to several galleries listed below:

  • Little Winter Wonders

    Little Winter Wonders

    One of my favorite birds is the green-winged teal. They are beautiful small ducks that migrate here every winter. While green-winged teal are a common species, they can be difficult to find because they prefer smaller shallow ponds with plenty of cover. Last year we were dealing with the high water left over from hurricane Ian which created numerous areas for them to inhabit that were inaccessible for us. So, we had virtually no good photo opportunities all season.

    Green Winged Teal Preening In Morning
    Green-winged Teal Preening in the Morning

    But this year we found a park near St. Petersburg where a modest flock has taken up residence for the winter months with a group of blue-winged teal. Thankfully, they have been close enough to shore for some good pictures. The duckweed that they enjoy seems plentiful so hopefully they will stick around for a few more weeks.

    Follow the links for more information on these pretty little ducks.

    A few more pictures from this journey are featured below. For a larger selection of photos, please visit the gallery listed.

  • Lakeland Area

    Lakeland Area

    As the “snowbird” season comes to an end in Florida, we wanted to try and photograph a few waterfowl species before they begin or continue their journeys north. One of the species that spends time here is the ruddy duck. We’ve photographed the attractive little ducks in the past, but we’re always on a mission to find that perfect shot. So, we headed to Lakeland where we have always found ruddy ducks in the past. We follow the recent sightings from birders on Cornell University’s website so we knew the ducks were still in the area from several reports. As luck would have it, they chose a different lake that day!

    But all was not lost. This day turned out to be one of the best days we’ve ever had for wood ducks. We saw almost 30, and many were just perched and preening in the morning sun. Their colors are simply amazing. Other birds that settled on or around the lake that day included mallards, ring-necked ducks, mute swans, black swans, lesser scaup, and a large flock of white pelicans.

    Wood Duck Male Resting On Wall
    Wood Duck Male Resting on a Wall

    The male pelicans were hilariously courting the females by cruising around the lake with their wings lifted over their backs.

    White Pelican Male With Wings Up Pose
    White Pelican Male with a Wings Up Pose

    Here is a link to Cornell’s website which is a wonderful resource for anyone interested in birds.

    A few more pictures from this journey are featured below. For a larger selection of photos, go to the galleries listed.

  • Myakka River Wildlife Destination

    Myakka River Wildlife Destination

    Myakka River State Park is a wildlife and nature gem. Located in eastern Sarasota County, it is one of the largest parks in Florida with over 37,000 acres. The Myakka River flows through the park and creates a variety of lakes, ponds, and flooded marshlands. Because of the diverse terrain, the park is home to a huge variety of wildlife.

    There are many types of migrating birds that spend the winter and spring months in the park including several species of waterfowl. It’s also a good place to find roseate spoonbills which are one of the most desired birds for photos in the state.

    Roseate Spoonbill Flying By
    Roseate Spoonbill Flying By

    A few more pictures from this journey are featured below. For a larger selection of photos, go to the galleries listed.

  • Wintering Waterfowl

    Wintering Waterfowl

    It started off being a rather quiet year for waterfowl. No matter where we went in December and early January, the numbers seemed down from years past. But the last couple of weeks have changed everything. Not only have the number of ducks improved, but we found a couple of species that we hadn’t seen in our travels. Most notably is the northern pintail. We located a small nature preserve near Tampa Bay that the ducks liked. In addition to the pintails, we found northern shovelers, widgeons, and plenty of teal, including my favorite, a green-winged teal. Hopefully they’ll stick around for a few more weeks.

    Northern Pintail Male Flying By
    Male Northern Pintail Flying By

    A few more pictures from this journey are featured below. For a larger selection of photos, go to the galleries listed.

  • Black-bellied Whistling Ducks

    Black-bellied Whistling Ducks

    A duck that is common in our area but seldom seen in the rest of the country other than southern Texas and southern Arizona is the black-bellied whistling duck. A few things make them easy to identify in the air. First is their distinctive call. They sound much like a wood duck with more of a crying sound than a quack. Next is their large white patch on their wings. The patches are easy to see because their wing beat is much slower than a typical duck. With most other ducks, males are typically more colorful, especially in winter and spring before mating season. However male and female whistling ducks look alike.

    Black Bellied Whistling Duck Standing Watch
    Black-bellied Whistling Duck on Watch

    Most whistling ducks don’t usually migrate. They may travel out of the area for short periods of time but generally remain nearby. Like wood ducks, whistling ducks may sit above ground in trees. We’ve even seen them perched on telephone lines. They are easy to approach which can be detrimental. It’s not uncommon to see bald eagles carrying them back to their nests to feed their young.

    Black Bellied Whistling Ducks With Ducklings Feeding
    Black-bellied Whistling Ducks with Ducklings Feeding on Duckweed

    For a larger selection of photos, go to the galleries listed.

  • Lakeland

    Lakeland

    One of my favorite photo destinations is Lakeland, FL. As the name implies, Lakeland is a city of lakes. According to recent data, there are 38 named lakes in the city. Lakeland is famous for its population of mute swans that are descendants of a pair of swans given to the city by Queen Elizabeth in the 1950s.

    Mute Swan Chattering
    Mute Swan Chattering

    On our last visit we encountered the swans on their nests. Many were incubating eggs while some little cygnets had already hatched and were kept protected in enclosures. There were still many ducks around including wood ducks, ring-necked ducks, mallards and ruddy ducks. I had not seen a male ruddy duck for many years. A few white pelicans were also cruising the lake.

    Ruddy Duck Male Resting On Lake
    Male Ruddy Duck Resting on a Lake

    A few more pictures from this journey are featured below. For a larger selection of photos, go to the galleries listed.

  • Ducks Unlimited Milestone

    Ducks Unlimited Milestone

    I apologize for getting a little “political” but one thing I learned years ago is that the vast, vast majority of sportsmen and sportswomen are more concerned with actually doing something about the environment than our government. Maybe the best example of this is the Ducks Unlimited organization.

    The attached article highlights the efforts that DU has put forth over the years to restore and save habitat for waterfowl and all the other wildlife that coexists with these beautiful birds. Enjoy!

  • Port Manatee

    Port Manatee

    Last week I had the pleasure of joining a group of some of the top birders in Manatee County, Florida for a field trip to Port Manatee. The trip was hosted by the Army Corps of Engineers due to a number of highly restricted areas. The fields and ponds consist of silt dredged from the shipping canals in Tampa Bay. The silt must be drained before it can be used for fill dirt, so it doesn’t settle at the building site. It’s a very interesting process that creates several small shallow lakes. But the silt can be dangerous. It looks dried and cracked but just under the surface it is still wet and behaves like quicksand.

    There are many species of ducks and shore birds that are attracted to the ponds. Ducks we saw included lesser scaup, redheads, ruddy ducks, buffleheads, northern shovelers, green-winged teal, blue-winged teal, ring-necked ducks, hooded mergansers and red-breasted mergansers.

    We also saw several varieties of shore birds, but my favorite was an American avocet. It was my first time seeing an avocet. They are close relatives to the black-necked stilt. Like the stilts, they have very long legs and long bills to slide through the water sifting for small shrimp and snails. Most of the birds were beyond the range for good photos but just seeing so many different species made it a great day. I would be remiss if I didn’t thank my good friend Art Nadelman for getting us connected with the group.

    American Avocet Pair Walking Through Shallow Water
    Two American Avocets Walking through Shallow Water

    A few more pictures from this journey are featured below. For a larger selection of photos, go to the galleries listed.

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