Blue-winged Teals at Sweetwater Wetlands: 11-17-18

Male Blue-winged Teal

These ducks have the highest annual mortality rate (almost 65%) of all the dabbling ducks, probably as a result of hunting as wells long over-ocean migration.

Interestingly, DNA analysis of this species has revealed its genetic makeup to be almost identical to that of the Cinnamon Teal.

They are more vocal than most ducks with their high-pitched peeping and nasal quacking, most prominent in the spring.

Scratch that itch

Females

Winston-Salem, NC: T-Day

Sweet Belle

One of the Best (If not THE BEST) Dogs EVER!

Red-bellied Woodpecker

Tufted Titmouse

These birds hoard food in fall and winter, a behavior they share with many of their relatives, including chickadees and tits.  They take advantage of any bird feeder’s bounty by storing many of the seeds they get.  Interestingly, they take only one seed per trip and usually shell the seeds before hiding them.

Black-capped Chicadee

These dynamos are small, non-migratory songbirds that are in the tit family.

They are the state bird of Maine and Massachusetts and the Provincial Bird of New Brunswick in Canada.

Like the Tufted Titmouse, these birds also hide seeds and other food items to eat later.  Each item is placed in a different spot and the chickadees can remember thousands of hiding places!

White-breasted Nuthatch

These birds also typically store seeds for later in the winter, usually by wedging them into furrows in the bark of nearby trees.

Pee Dee National Wildlife Refuge, North Carolina: 11-20-18

Canada Geese overwinter here

Not all of the trails were passable

Northern Mockingbird

Cormorants from our deck at 1621

Double-crested Cormorant

One of the collective nouns used to describe a group of cormorants is a “gulp."

They have a strong powerful direct flight

This carried a Red Mangrove propagule in its bill for 10 minutes before simply dropping it.

They have an orange throat pouch and beautiful turquoise eyes in the breeding season.

Anhingas at Sweetwater Wetlands, Gainesville, FL: 11-18-18

Female Anhinga drying her wings

These birds do not have oil glands for waterproofing their feathers like most water birds.  When they swim, they get wet which allows them to move more efficiently under water but when they leave the water, they must spread their wings and dry in the sun.

Resting

Male

Flight feathers look like thin fingers

Beautiful feathers on its long tail that accounts for its nickname, “water turkey."

Swallowing a fish