Swimming Wood Duck

Here's 1 of our more common (though somewhat shy) ducks swimming at the Washington Valley Reservoir. Though a male in eclipse plumage looks similar overall to a female Wood Duck, I'm confident this is a female:

  1. The eyes don't look red (which a male should have) but there is a white ring around the eyes (which only a female should have).
  2. This picture was taken in the spring [1], when I'd expect a male to look more like this in his full breeding plumage.
May 1, 2023 at Washington Valley Reservoir
Photo 278271098, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)

[1] If you saw a male Wood Duck on this date, he probably would look a bit like a red-eyed female. One tricky things about some birds (especially males) is having to recognize different plumages.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Muskrat

Image
I almost forgot that I've got Muskrat pictures; here's one that I met a little over a month ago. I saw these guys splashing around in the canal by the Raritan River Greenway, but photography opportunities were limited since they were moving a lot, including swimming underwater. Then this little fella climbed out of the canal and began eating a few feet away from me. Another one came out and did likewise, albeit a little further away. I was suspicious they might be young Muskrats who didn't know they should stay away from the humans. Though associated with (and sometimes mistaken for) the North American Beaver , and despite "rat" being in their name, they're not particularly closely related to either beavers or rats. Their closest relatives are lemmings and voles. (All these species are rodents though.) May 10, 2021 at the Raritan River Greenway Photo 128959337, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)
Read more

Tree and Shrub Planting

Image
I talked about some of the conditions at a Chambers Brook tree planting ; today I thought I'd discuss the tactics. First there are the issues common to both trees and shrubs: Most of the time an auger had dug the holes so there was no question about where to plant the tree/shrub, and things like rocks and roots are essentially irrelevant. While I recognize that the pre-dug holes are a time-and-labor saver, there are a couple downsides. First, the auger was digging holes deeper and wider than needed for our trees/shrubs, necessitating some refilling of the hole before planting. Second, sometimes the soil was a clay that, after a day or two, would harden into something difficult to break up when refilling the hole. When we had to dig our own holes, sometimes you could easily dig a hole but in other situations rocks and/or roots made life quite a bit harder. And while I wore hard-soled boots/shoes that let me hop on the shovel, some others had softer shoes that could have made diggin...
Read more

The Hermits of Sourland

Image
Last year in mid-April I met Hermit Thrushes at Washington Valley Park; this year I met (presumably other) Hermit Thrushes at Sourland Mountain Preserve at about the same time of year. My resources ( All About Birds and 2 field guides) suggest I might be seeing them as they migrate through my area [1]; their maps imply their breeding range starts at northern NJ and continues northward [2]. It's a little unfortunate that Hermit Thrushes generally can't be heard without venturing into the woods; they're considered to be some of the best singers out there.  April 14, 2023 at Sourland Mountain Preserve Photo 272130180, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC) April 14, 2023 at Sourland Mountain Preserve Photo 272130437, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC) [1] My title of "The Hermits of Sourland" might suggest more permanence than is warranted if the birds are just passing through. [2] It's possible my field guides are getting to be out-of-da...
Read more