Tuesday, March 09, 2010

American Black Duck


Drake American Black Duck, Anas rubripes

I must tell you, that before I moved to Columbus and frequented the Walden waterfowl refuge at Blendon Woods, I had never heard of a "black duck". My introduction to waterfowl was at Blendon Woods, and each year, several hundred individuals winter on the pond that is kept ice free by several aerators that constantly move the water. The black duck looks similar to a mallard, but the males lack the bright green head, and overall, they have a very dark appearance.

The males and females are quite similar, but the best way to tell them apart is to exampine their bills. Males have yellow bills, while the female's bill is brownish.

In a few weeks the black ducks at Blendon Woods will fly north to their breeding grounds. I'm hoping a few more diving ducks join them before the waterfowl migration, now in full swing, is over.


Male and female American Black Ducks


Tom

7 comments:

  1. I am enjoying this blog.Your photography skills are evident.Enjoy the ducks and then send them up our way.:)
    Blessings,Ruth

    ReplyDelete
  2. Very nice! The "King Duck" of the Atlantic Flyway. Note....the male is a black x mallard hybrid Tom....hybridization is a real problem for black ducks.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Thanks for "Swamp Thing" for pointing this out. I've got an e-mail into "the thing" to let me know what he used to make the hybrid determination and hopefully I'll have a follow up post.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I'm enjoying your blog. I live nearby, and never realized that there were so many types of water birds that live or pass through here. I've started watching for them, saw an American coot yesterday.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hi Liz- That's awesome. I think that most people have no idea how many birds pass through central Ohio each year. Just wait for the warbler season!

    Tom

    ReplyDelete
  6. I am SO glad that you made this post! We have had one of these ducks showing up on the property and we weren't sure what it was. I was guessing it must be a mallard mix of some type, since they will cross breed. But after seeing your post, I am 99% sure this is what it is. I feel kinda bad for it, it seems very lonely and scares really easily. (Even the regular little song birds will spook it.) It hangs near the mallards, but separate. They don't seem to chase it off, but they don't seem to accept it either. She is so shy that it is hard to get good photos of her, but I have some distant ones. I will be posting them soon. I haven't posted any of my March photos yet... I'm behind. Anyway thank you for sharing!

    ReplyDelete