Florida Gulf Coast Creations

Tag: Waterfowl

  • 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.

  • Lake Morton Waterfowl

    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 Peacefully Resting
    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.

  • 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.

  • Happy New Year

    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.

    Townsends Warbler Climbing In Oak Tree
    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.

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