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Like you, I’ve seen a lot of ducks in my life, but it wasn’t until 2006 that I first beheld the the wondrous waterfowl that I’d come to regard as my favorite duck, bar none – the White-cheeked Pintail. The White cheeked Pintail (Anas bahamensis), also known as the Bahama Pintail, is a dabbling duck that [...]

In North America there is really only one duck that could even come close to competing with the Wood Duck for the title of most fair, and the Harlequin Duck is just too much of a trollop to really compete.  Wood Ducks are essentially in a class of their own and seeing a drake in [...]

Over much of North America, the Lesser Scaup Aythya affinis is more than just common.  Rather, it could be considered the aythyian background noise against which to discern the other, more appreciated species. But one man’s trash bird is another man’s treasure, and the Lesser Scaup is a species that inspires awe and wonder in a birder’s [...]

During the last week, I received some terrific photos from two readers who had encountered a very distinctive duck at Brazos Bend State Park in Texas. They weren’t quite sure about its identity, but I bet you have some ideas. Take a guess, then check out the link after the photos to see if you’re right! [...]

Just a quick post today to appreciate one of New Zealand’s most attractive birds, the Paradise Shelduck. This is brought about by a visit to Karori Wildlife Sanctuary/Zealandia, where I was able to catch up with the ducklings that I first saw back in the spring. The youngsters are almost fully grown, but are still [...]

There really isn’t much to say about the Mottled Duck. It is one of several species in the Mallard-complex of ducks, along with American Black Duck, Mexican Duck, and quite a few others. You find them in the south from Florida to Texas and down into Mexico, occasionally as far north as the Carolinas in [...]

The Green-winged Teal (Anas crecca carolinensis) is North America’s smallest dabbling duck and taken by hunters second only to the Mallard. Click on photos for full sized images. Luckily for them, even though they nest on the ground, they usually breed far from human habitation, under heavy vegetative cover. It appears that most of the [...]

Torrent Ducks are the thrill-seekers of the avian world. Very few birds – or animals for that matter – would plunge head-first into the churning cauldrons of some of South America’s most treacherous rivers. But Torrent Ducks are fearless and to witness some of their daredevil feats ranks pretty high in the book “1000 Avian Spectacles to See [...]

I am always intrigued by the multitude of opinions out there on various birding subjects, but lately none more than digiscoping. With all of the birding shows involved in my schedule I have the opportunity to hear many of these opinions. Often enough, I hear birders discussing digiscoping as if it were an after thought, [...]

Behind the Outback Steakhouse at Edgewater Commons, a shopping center across the Hudson River from New York City, is a rusted pile of wreckage that is gradually falling apart and into the river. I am not really sure what it is or why it has been left to blight a small portion of the view [...]

There are few things in the natural world that frighten me. I certainly do not consider myself brave or courageous in any way, but I’d like to think that walking the wilds for 30-something years now has made me aware of the dangers and the ways of avoiding them. I am cautious, I am vigilant, [...]

I have said it before and I will say it again – I love getting to Jamaica Bay at the end of a day and photographing waterfowl flying in and out of the West Pond.  The bird that is flies in and out in the greatest numbers of late is Greater Scaup Aythya marila, sometimes [...]

Autumn is a season of transitions and migrations, a slow descent from summer’s heat to winter’s cold. Sometimes blustery and rainy, sometimes warm and sunny, it is the second best season for birders, only beaten by spring. One of my favorite parts of fall is the long, drawn out duck migration, which seems to never [...]

Finally!  It took long enough but I have finally seen an Eurasian Wigeon in my home borough, at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge’s East Pond to be exact.  It was nice to add bird number 284 to my Queens life list, though it seems kind of absurd that it has taken so long to see one [...]

Okay. I know at 10,000 Birds, we’re not only supposed to wow you with blog articles, but we’re also supposed show you some awesome photos. So let me get this photo of a Trumpeter Swan out of the way: That’s an up close shot, but sometimes you can see some cool things when you are [...]

On a recent visit to Cape May Point State Park in search of an elusive Purple Gallinule I did not find my quarry but I did find quite a few photogenic birds.  One of them or, rather, several of them, were Gadwall – a pile of ducklings with their mother.  I am used to seeing [...]

Last Saturday we spent the day at Herdsman Lake in Perth due to a sudden work trip for Grant, which got extended over the weekend and I was able to join him. We were rather lucky with the weather as it is winter and it is wet! Of course you don’t really care if you are [...]

When the American Ornithologists’ Union publishes its annual North American checklist update next month, many birders will be disappointed to see that a proposal to re-split Mexican Duck (Anas diazi) from Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) has failed. The Mexican Duck, as its name suggests, is native to Mexico and parts of the southwestern United States, and [...]

The more I learn about ducks, the more impressed I am with their blatant promiscuity. Mallards, of course, bring new meaning to the term dabbling duck, what with all those wild mallard hybrids and domestic cross-breeds running around. But apparently, all the Anas-species ducks are overly amorous or at least indiscriminate. Consider the teals. Teal [...]

The haunting call of the West Indian Whistling Duck has long been a sound synonymous with the ever-shrinking wetlands of the Caribbean. But, as with so many other species, these birds have been left to do their own whistle blowing. The whistling duck call carries with it the crimes of big business, the failures of [...]