Tag Archives: Pink Eared Duck

Blue-billed, Pink-eared, Black-fronted, Wet-birder

Posted on July 27, 2017 | 4 comments

I have made a few return trips to the Jawbone reserve lately. While quite exposed to the cold south-westerly winter weather, it is a place that allows fairly easy access to many birds. Typically I can find up to 50 species. A long but easy walk along the lagoons and scrub land, and the lagoons are narrow so at times a photographer can sneak up quite close. The secret is to not make eye contact and look like you are doing something else – they always seem to know when you are trying to get close and focus on them. The birds here are used to people running, walking and biking along the paths and edges of the lagoons even closer than we were and they were totally ignored…

Pink-eared Ducks, Jawbone flora and fauna reserve, WIlliamstown, Vic

Pink-eared Ducks, Jawbone flora and fauna reserve, WIlliamstown, Vic

Pink-eared Ducks, Jawbone flora and fauna reserve, WIlliamstown, Vic

Pink-eared Duck amongst Grey Teals

Pink-eared Ducks, Jawbone flora and fauna reserve, WIlliamstown, Vic

Pink-eared Ducks spooked by a White-bellied Sea-Eagle drifting along the coast

Blue-billed Duck, Jawbone flora and fauna reserve, WIlliamstown, Vic

Male Blue-billed Duck, Jawbone flora and fauna reserve, WIlliamstown, Vic

Blue-billed Duck, Jawbone flora and fauna reserve, WIlliamstown, Vic

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Birder in the mud, Jawbone flora and fauna reserve, WIlliamstown, Vic

Birder in the mud – sometimes you have to get cold, wet and muddy for the shot

Black-fronted Dotterel, Jawbone flora and fauna reserve, WIlliamstown, Vic

Black-fronted Dotterel watching birders lying in the mud.

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Posted in Bird Behaviour, Victoria

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A yapping Pink-eared Duck

Posted on May 30, 2017 | 5 comments

Also called a zebra duck, the Pink-eared Duck is a beautiful bird that sits low in the water, filter feeds with its distinctive bill, flies and gathers in very large flocks and yaps or whistles when disturbed or in flight. An added bonus are bright pink ear coverts made up of 9 pink feathers  – this pink patch becomes more pronounced and colourful as the bird matures.   The ones I watched seemed to have a light pink patch rather than the full dark pink so maybe they were testing each other in a youthful gathering. The duck are thought to mate for life. I often see many in huge flocks (10,000s+) at the pooh farm. There were 50+ at Jawbone on the weekend and due to the width of the lagoons I managed to get fairly close without spooking them too much – a very difficult thing to do at the pooh farm where they spook much more easily due to the number of raptors cruising for a meal. We noticed that as they yapped  they lifted their head as part of the display, making the fleshy part of the bill more visible. It is a very odd but beautiful duck – one of my favourites. (post edited after a bit more research and ref checking – see comments below)

Pink-eared Duck, Jawbone Flora and Fauna Reserve, Williamstown

Pink-eared Duck, Jawbone Flora and Fauna Reserve, Williamstown

Pink-eared Duck, Jawbone Flora and Fauna Reserve, Williamstown

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Posted in Bird Behaviour, Birds, Victoria

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Flight

Posted on July 9, 2015 | 3 comments

A few images from one of the recent visits I have made to the Western Treatment Plant in the last month. It is a great place to photograph birds in flight – always a tough subject. There are many raptors always on the prowl that are constantly spooking the flocks on the water giving you opportunities to practice. The reaction of the flocks tell you that something good is above and you have to quickly spin around and look for the raptor that is causing the fuss. Some are ignored like the Black Shouldered Kite and others are taken very seriously – like the large mature Whistling Kites.

Click image to enlarge.

Pink Eared Ducks, Western Treatment Plant

Large flock of Pink Eared Ducks (aka Zebra Duck), Western Treatment Plant – one of my favourite ducks  – very photogenic and quite strange looking, and no other Aussie duck sounds like it.

Black Shouldered Kite, Western Treatment Plant

Black Shouldered Kite on the hunt – beautiful wing structure and displaying its black shoulder.

Whiskered Tern, Western Treatment Plant,

Whiskered Tern – two were flying and hunting along the lagoons and one would keep dive-bombing the other. This pic is of the lower tern avoiding its hunting partner that had just dived past it.

Black Kite, Western Treatment Plant

Black Kite – a different angle

Whistling Kite, Western Treatment Plant,

Whistling Kite prowling the lagoons.

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Posted in Bird Behaviour, Birds, Victoria

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Coolart Homestead and Wetlands

Posted on January 27, 2015 | 3 comments

Another drive to the Mornington Peninsula to look for a few photogenic birds at my regular spots. Started off at Coolart Homestead and Wetlands. Coolart is a late Victorian mansion with formal and informal gardens built on the shores of  Westernport Bay. It has a significant wetlands area with several viewing observatories and hides. A good day of exploring the wetlands, gardens and woodlands can result in a list of 50+ bird species.

Coolart Homestead, Somers

Coolart Homestead, Somers

Australian White Ibis

Australian White Ibis

Little Pied Cormorant

Little Pied Cormorant

Juvenile Eastern Yellow Robin waiting for his breakfast

Juvenile Eastern Yellow Robin waiting for his breakfast

Eastern Yellow Robin

Eastern Yellow Robin

Eastern Spinebill

Eastern Spinebill

 

Lathams Snipe

Lathams Snipe – a secretive wader that migrates down from Japan for the Australian summer

Black Fronted Dotteral

Black Fronted Dotteral

The Pink Eared Duck is a favourite that does not turn up all that often. I regularly  find a small flock here at Coolart. They are a communal species and love to preen and bicker. The pink ear can be hard to see as they are quite flighty when in large groups on open water (like at the Weribee Pooh Farm). Due to the bird hide near one of their sand bank roosts one can be close enough to see the markings quite clearly.

Pink Eared Duck

Pink Eared Duck

Pink Eared Duck II

Pink Eared Duck II

Welcome Swallow

Welcome Swallow

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Posted in Birds, Victoria

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