Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Duck pond near Fort Desoto


I'm going with a ring necked duck. At first I thought it was scaup but the presences of the white ring on the beak says it should be a ring neck. Although, you can't see his neck so who knows.

Redhead. I think this is the first time I've seen one.


Lots of sleeping ducks in the afternoon.


My first Northern Shoveler. This is a female. They resemble mallards but with a really big bill.

I had read on Pinellasbirds.com that there were a lot of migrating ducks at the duck ponds in Tierre Verde before you drive into Fort Desoto. I was near there one afternoon and stopped by to see if I could spot anything.  There were a lot of usual moorhens and coots but I did notice the redheads and ring necked.  Most of them were sleeping on the other side of the pond but a few floated over by the sidewalk.  I can't believe I found the northern shoveler. She was hiding in the reeds but came out for a few seconds. I hate that I didn't get a front picture of her big bill. I'll have to check the pond again next time we head to the beach.

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