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Tremendous Torrent Ducks

10,000 Birds

Torrent Ducks are the thrill-seekers of the avian world. But Torrent Ducks are fearless and to witness some of their daredevil feats ranks pretty high in the book “1000 Avian Spectacles to See Before You Die” A book that I have not yet written. We initially only found a male Torrent Duck and later on, only a female.

Ducks 232
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Horrible Hybrids

10,000 Birds

On BirdTrack, the British equivalent of e-Bird, the list of birds provided does allow for Tufted Duck x Ferruginous Duck to be recorded, but not Tufted Duck x Pochard. However, that’s exactly what I guessed the duck swimming in front of me had to be. My hunch was Tufted Duck x Pochard.

Geese 178
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African Pygmy Geese – Diminutive Ducks

10,000 Birds

When I read somewhere that Pygmy Geese were not actually geese at all I started doing some research. I discovered that there are actually a fair number of ducks and other waterfowl that are wrongly called geese. So any birds that don’t belong to these genera can be considered either ducks or swans or something else.

Geese 177
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Winter Wanderland

10,000 Birds

Late summer 2023 the lakes and ponds had been empty, presumably because the ducks and geese were moulting. Empty no more, the ponds were now brimming with ducks of all creeds and persuasions – it was spectacular. If there were such a thing as a Periodic Table of Ducks we went from hydrogen to uranium: every duck imaginable was there.

Denver 140
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Teal Lake Shiraz (2019)

10,000 Birds

According to reports in the media , a recording from 1987 recently rediscovered by researchers has captured a Musk Duck ( Biziura lobata ) in Australia repeatedly uttering the phrase “You bloody fool” as part of its courtship display, apparently having picked up this impolite exclamation by mimicking overheard human speech.

2019 212
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AOU to leave Mexican Duck in limbo

10,000 Birds

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. © David J. © David J.

Ducks 169
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Reflections on Five Years of Blogging

10,000 Birds

I often start with a question that piques my interest (frequently triggered by the news, social media, or other reading) and then I do some research. Another observation is that researchers are generous with their time and respond to inquiries about their research, even by birding bloggers. Bird researchers are good people!