Duck Hunting

Recently I was getting my car serviced and I noticed the service manager had several ducks mounted on the wall of his office.  We had a lively discussion and he identified the birds he had hunted.  It got me thinking about doing some "hunting" of my own, only with a Nikon camera instead. Since it's duck hunting season in North Carolina, it's probably not a good idea to be out there unless you're wearing orange.  Instead, I thought I'd hunt through my photos of ducks and get a good list of the ones I've bagged.

This is a good time to give a plug for Sylvan Heights Waterfowl Park in Scotland Neck, North Carolina as many of these ducks were seen there.  It's a neat place and you're guaranteed to see some birds there ; ) ha ha.

Just for the sake of brevity, I'll only list North American species here, and no geese or swans.  Or Muscovy Ducks. They can get their own post at a later date.

American Goldeneye

Blue Winged Teals at the NC Zoo

Bufflehead

Cape Teal

Cinnamon Teal

Female Cinnamon Teal

Mr. Mallard

Northern Shelduck

Mottled Ducks, Sarasota, Florida

Lesser Scaup--a whole flock of them in the Atlantic Ocean off of Neptune Beach, Jacksonville, Florida

Red Bellied Whistling Duck, Sarasota, Florida in the canal behind my brother's house

Baer's Pochard

Pied Billed Grebe--is a Grebe considered a duck?

Tufted Duck

Canvasback

American Wood Duck--ain't he a beauty?

Fulvous Whistling Duck

Ringed Teal

Puna Teal

American Coot in Sarasota, Florida

Blue Winged Teal

Ring Necked Duck 

Another Northern Pintail.  I love the way he's standing. Reminds me of the children's book, "Make Way for Ducklings".

Radjah Shelduck

Puna Teal

Ringed Teal, Safari Park, Virginia

Rosy Billed Duck

Ruddy Duck

Smew

White Headed Duck

Murrell's Inlet, SC

Great Egret

Huntington Beach, SC

During my weekend in Myrtle Beach, I stopped at Huntington Beach State Park and Murrel's Inlet for some last week of summer birding.  I consider any birding trip a success if I see one lifer and get a decent picture.  Huntington Beach was pristine, not too crowded and an overall lovely time. I didn't make the mile walk to the jetty because of the lateness of the hour, but I would definitely return there someday in the winter and make a day of it.

Juvenile Semipalmated Plover- a lifer for me.
 I thought it was a Kildeer.  Good thing I take pictures first and ask questions later.

Breeding Ruddy Turnstone

An Osprey flew right overhead.

These two are both Sanderlings.  This one is the adult.

This is the juvey.

A tree full of Great Egrets

Tricolored Heron

Baby alligator in the manmade marsh at Huntington Beach State Park.
The mama was nearby.

Backyard Peeps

After the mild disappointment of Shelley Lake in summer, I returned home to some interesting bird behavior in my own back yard.  Just goes to show, there's no place like home.

Some juvenile Bluebirds keeping cool in the birdbath.
A deck railing is the reason for the strange cropping of this photo.

A third juvey about to take off.

It was one of those days when the only place to be was in the water--somewhere, anywhere you could find it.
This Tufted Titmouse has the right idea.  Please don't judge me for this dirty chair.

A female Ruby Throated Hummer has found my new feeder.

Summer Shelley Lake

Were we crazy tromping around in the heat at Shelley Lake in June?  I remember the heat was pretty gross and not too much birding excitement to be had, but I will post the pictures of the birds we did see.

Fish Crow 

Muscovy Hybrid

Male Kingfisher

A pair of Rough Winged Swallows