Interloper

Most people , I think, will be familiar with he Cuckoo's habit of laying its eggs in the nest of another species and turfing out the eggs of the resident bird. This duck has a slightly different approach in that the female Carolina Duck or Wood Duck (Aix sponsa) which is native to Canada, the United States and Mexico where it lives on shallow lakes, woodland pools and marshes is known to sneak into a neighbours nest and deposit her own eggs, leaving the unsuspecting mum to be with up to 30 eggs. Often they make their nests in the hollows of trees close to water however due to competition for suitable nesting sites (from birds of prey or mammals such as squirrels) they can nest up to one mile from their water source and this may account for the habit of laying eggs in a fellow Wood ducks nest. This is known as "nest dumping" and unfortunately leads to unsuccessful incubation. They can produce two broods in a season which is unique to this species in North America.

When they hatch young wood ducks will jump down from their cavity in the tree, sometimes from as high as 50 feet landing on the water or a soft surface such as leaf litter. The mother duck will then call to her day old chicks and lead them to where the can find their food. They have a varied diet of berries , seeds and insects, they also eat acorns which  after swallowing them they can crush in their gizzard.

Tufty

 Here are a couple of species of duck. There are lots of different species of duck around the world. Here in the UK most people will be familiar with the Mallard which are quite common and I sometimes feel they are easily overlooked, and because ducks are everywhere all species can be lumped in together "as just another duck". To do so is to a massive disservice to the many beautiful variations which have interesting habits.

The images below show male and female Red Crested Pochard. The male is the more colourful specimen and in the portrait image he reminds me of a comedienne and TV presenter, I cant explain why and I wont say who (so that comment is probably pointless but it will serve as a reminder to me when I look back at this post in future). Anyway this is a diving duck which feeds on vegetation and is a resident of southern Europe and central Asia.

The other species is a Patagonian Crested Duck, a dabbling feeder from Patagonia so Chile and Peru and Argentina, as well as the Falkland Islands. They are the most common duck species in that area but they do not flock together, rather they stay in pairs and are quite territorial. Their main foods are macroinvertebrates like zooplankton and clams but also kelp. the bird in this image is a male and he has a very handsome crest. I also really like his mottled plumage.

Elegance in Black and White

My second outing of the year was another trip to Martin Mere Wildfowl and Wetland Centre in Lancashire. This time however I had a couple of my grandchildren with me and so I didn't expect to get that many photos. Much to my surprise though, I took just shy of 140 shots while my eldest grandson also managed to take lots of pictures with his own mini digital camera. It was such a lot of fun.

As well as the birds out on the mere we also went around the collection of more "exotic" species and so I have a nice mix of birds to share, when I get round to editing all of the pictures and sorting out the ones worth posting.

Today here are some shots of a Whooper Swan and Black Swan, you will be able to work out which one is which...

The Whooper Swan is a winter visitor which comes down from its breeding grounds in Iceland. They are so elegant and normally as they swim around they hold their necks straight. In these images the bird has been feeding hence its curved neck. They are an Amber Listed species in terms of their conservation status and they are a Schedule 1 listed bird which means it is illegal to disturb them. They are regular winter visitors to Martin Mere.

The Black Swan is a native of Australia but it is now thriving in New Zealand and in the UK. Their plumage is entirely black except for some flight feathers which are white.

My favourite image today is the second one which is a much softer image as a result of reducing texture and clarity and adding a slight vignette giving a slightly dreamy quality which enhances the elegance of this beautiful bird.

Beautiful Plumage!

 I am not referring to the plumage of the Norwegian Blue Parrot made famous by those terribly funny Monty Python chaps, I am of course referring to the plumage of the Hooded mergansers as seen in the pictures below.

I had a short break from sharing pictures due to a brief camping trip in Glencoe (Scottish Highlands) and while I have loads of images to sort through and eventually share with you I am continuing today with some of my wildlife shots from WWT Martin Mere.

I think we can agree that the Hooded Merganser is a very handsome bird. It is a diving duck and like the Goldeneye in my last post has a wide flattened tail which is uses to push itself under water in search of food. It has a long thin beak which is no doubt designed for catching small fish and crustaceans that it likes to eat. The male and female have very different and distinct markings, the male with its black and white breast, head and back with more orange coloured flanks. He looks very impressive with his tufted head fully extended. He also has bold yellow eyes.

The female on the other hand is less striking brown although she has a beautiful chestnut red crest and reddish eyes. 

When they weren't diving for food they spent much of the time circling each other, they make quite a pair. They are cavity nesters often using holes in trees close to fresh water or even in nest boxes.

These pictures confirm what I said in my last post, ducks are not less interesting or less attractive than geese.

Familiar Faces

 

I sometimes think that we undervalue some of our most common species of birds. We might go to a local park or walk along a river bank or canal and frequently see Mallard ducks, Mute Swans and even Tufted Ducks and think its "just a swan" or "just a duck" but get more excited when we see something a little more unusual. Maybe I am wrong but familiarity does often mean we take things for granted and  in doing so we can miss out on how special these birds are.

Take a look at the colours of the sleepy mallard's head and the lustrous sheen of its breast feathers, as it rests in the shade of a tree. It is nothing short of spectacular.

And how about the pure white feathers of the tufted duck contrasted with its shiny dark wing feathers, not to mention that impressive plume and the bold yellow eye. It is more than just a black and white duck it is beautiful and elegant.

Talking of elegance the mute swan is so serene as these three head shots show. They look majestic when they sail along a river with their wings curled round but they have really impressive features too and are worth a closer look.

So next time you are out for a walk, in the park or by a river or lake take not of the ducks and swans and appreciate what makes them special. They are not "just anything" they are a thing of beauty.

Fowl Portraits

 One of the features at Hestercombe Garden is a mill pond, which is home to a number of ducks and swans and other wildfowl.

I know that Mallard ducks and Mute Swans are really familiar birds and maybe not the most interesting of subjects simply by virtue of the fact that they may seem commonplace. However, take a closer look and they have really expressive faces.

When I say take a closer look I really did get close for these shots. I had a bag of seed in one of the pockets of my camera bag and so I threw a few seeds down and the ducks flocked around me trying to pick up a few scraps. They were so fast and close it was actually very difficult to get a decent shot. I had to be careful not to step back onto an errant duck.

The swan really did get close to me, at one point s/he reached forward almost touching the lens and in the third image you can see just how close, it has a slightly menacing look, which was backed up by a warning hiss. In profile s/he looks a little more serene

Having saved these images as JPEG files they lack some of the detail in the original Raw files but they are still nice images.

Wood Duck

I don't know about you but I think these Wood Duck are absolutely beautiful. 

They have such spectacular plumage, and look really regal.

Brick Croft

A couple of years ago a friend introduced me to this place. It's called Brick Croft Nature Reserve, in Longton, Lancashire and as you can see it's a peaceful spot.  I've been back a couple of times and enjoyed myself immensely.

At different times of the year different birds visit this spot and on this occasion there were a few swans and a breeding pair of Great Crested Grebes.  The grebes had a chick in tow but unfortunately it stayed too far away from the banks and so I was unable to get a decent shot. So for today these pictures will have to do.

Wildfowl

The pictures for today and tomorrow (and maybe Monday too but I haven't made up my mind on that yet) were taken during a visit to Martin Mere a Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust reserve  in Lancashire.  I have heard it called a "bird zoo" which I suppose in some ways it is but it is also home to numerous migrating birds.  

It's a good venue for getting up close to some stunning wildlife and so I have picked a few shots to share with you which I hope you will enjoy.