View allAll Photos Tagged Dabble
This dabbling duck is widespread in North America, feeding on plants in freshwater and coastal ponds. This male was photographed at Harold and Wilson Conservation Park, Nassau, Bahamas, and was another new species for me.
At UT I dabbled in metal casting and fabrication. For my final I had this idea for a one-man grill. It is kind of lonely but with a sense of humor, something close to independence. The Steak Grill is made of steel and based on measurements from what was a delicious steak. It was some of the most fun I have had working on a school project and I have wanted to get back into a metal shop like that ever since.
The best part is it works. I guess you could only do one side of a T-bone but a couple dogs and a burger is perfect. The Steak Grill has had a few homes over the years and was trapped in a busted car trunk for a while.
Now that the grill is preserved in pictures I would like to try to get the rust off, or at least keep it from getting worse. Even if it was clean I am not sure how to keep it that way and still be able to eat off of it.
The Steak Grill won me an “A” and I have the pictures so maybe it is time for it to retire to rust somewhere permanent with the base buried like it sprouted out of the ground.
For more photos and videos by Mark Lewis visit mlewisphotovideo.com
For more <a href="http://www.mlewisphotovideo.com/favorites" rel="nofollow">photos </a>and <a href="http://www.mlewisphotovideo.com/video" rel="nofollow">videos </a>by <a href="mailto:mark@mlewisphotovideo.com" rel="nofollow">Mark Lewis </a>visit <a href="http://www.mlewisphotovideo.com/home" rel="nofollow">www.mlewisphotovideo.com</a>
The Black Duck (Anus rubripes) is a large dabbling duck, native to Northeastern North America. It somewhat resembles the female Mallard in coloration, but has darker plumage. The male and female are generally similar in appearance, but the male's bill is yellow while the female's is dull green. This pair is swimming in Boland Pond, waiting for Spring to finally come.
At UT I dabbled in metal casting and fabrication. For my final I had this idea for a one-man grill. It is kind of lonely but with a sense of humor, something close to independence. The Steak Grill is made of steel and based on measurements from what was a delicious steak. It was some of the most fun I have had working on a school project and I have wanted to get back into a metal shop like that ever since.
The best part is it works. I guess you could only do one side of a T-bone but a couple dogs and a burger is perfect. The Steak Grill has had a few homes over the years and was trapped in a busted car trunk for a while.
Now that the grill is preserved in pictures I would like to try to get the rust off, or at least keep it from getting worse. Even if it was clean I am not sure how to keep it that way and still be able to eat off of it.
The Steak Grill won me an “A” and I have the pictures so maybe it is time for it to retire to rust somewhere permanent with the base buried like it sprouted out of the ground.
For more photos and videos by Mark Lewis visit mlewisphotovideo.com
For more <a href="http://www.mlewisphotovideo.com/favorites" rel="nofollow">photos </a>and <a href="http://www.mlewisphotovideo.com/video" rel="nofollow">videos </a>by <a href="mailto:mark@mlewisphotovideo.com" rel="nofollow">Mark Lewis </a>visit <a href="http://www.mlewisphotovideo.com/home" rel="nofollow">www.mlewisphotovideo.com</a>
The smallest of dabbling ducks, mostly white Bufflehead, in heavy fog on the Courtenay River estuary - photographic expectations were low .... but got a focus and this shot.
At UT I dabbled in metal casting and fabrication. For my final I had this idea for a one-man grill. It is kind of lonely but with a sense of humor, something close to independence. The Steak Grill is made of steel and based on measurements from what was a delicious steak. It was some of the most fun I have had working on a school project and I have wanted to get back into a metal shop like that ever since.
The best part is it works. I guess you could only do one side of a T-bone but a couple dogs and a burger is perfect. The Steak Grill has had a few homes over the years and was trapped in a busted car trunk for a while.
Now that the grill is preserved in pictures I would like to try to get the rust off, or at least keep it from getting worse. Even if it was clean I am not sure how to keep it that way and still be able to eat off of it.
The Steak Grill won me an “A” and I have the pictures so maybe it is time for it to retire to rust somewhere permanent with the base buried like it sprouted out of the ground.
For more photos and videos by Mark Lewis visit mlewisphotovideo.com
For more <a href="http://www.mlewisphotovideo.com/favorites" rel="nofollow">photos </a>and <a href="http://www.mlewisphotovideo.com/video" rel="nofollow">videos </a>by <a href="mailto:mark@mlewisphotovideo.com" rel="nofollow">Mark Lewis </a>visit <a href="http://www.mlewisphotovideo.com/home" rel="nofollow">www.mlewisphotovideo.com</a>
The chestnut teal (Anas castanea) is a dabbling duck found in southern Australia. It is protected under the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974.
The chestnut teal is darker and a slightly bigger bird than the grey teal.
The male has a distinctive green coloured head and mottled brown body. The female has a brown head and mottled brown body. The female is almost identical in appearance to the grey teal.
The female chestnut teal has a loud penetrating "laughing" quack repeated rapidly nine times or more.
The chestnut teal is commonly distributed in south-eastern and south-western Australia, while vagrants may occur elsewhere. Tasmania and southern Victoria are the species’ stronghold, while vagrants can be found as far north as New Guinea and Lord Howe Island.
The chestnut teal prefers coastal estuaries and wetlands, and is indifferent to salinity. This bird is an omnivore.
Chestnut teals form monogamous pairs that stay together outside the breeding season, defend the nest site and look after the young when hatched.
Nests are usually located over water, in a down-lined tree hollow about 6–10 m high. Sometimes nests are placed on the ground, among clumps of grass near water. The young hatch and are ready to swim and walk within a day.
Dabbling in tripods, long exposures, and HDR. (Fusion of last exposure and 2 exposures on either side.) I'm not sure I like either one!
Early Spring as small shallow wetland open large numbers of dabbling duck and geese species can be seen in the open shallow wetlands. Huron Wetland Management District in east Central South Dakota. Photo: Sandra Uecker\USFWS
At UT I dabbled in metal casting and fabrication. For my final I had this idea for a one-man grill. It is kind of lonely but with a sense of humor, something close to independence. The Steak Grill is made of steel and based on measurements from what was a delicious steak. It was some of the most fun I have had working on a school project and I have wanted to get back into a metal shop like that ever since.
The best part is it works. I guess you could only do one side of a T-bone but a couple dogs and a burger is perfect. The Steak Grill has had a few homes over the years and was trapped in a busted car trunk for a while.
Now that the grill is preserved in pictures I would like to try to get the rust off, or at least keep it from getting worse. Even if it was clean I am not sure how to keep it that way and still be able to eat off of it.
The Steak Grill won me an “A” and I have the pictures so maybe it is time for it to retire to rust somewhere permanent with the base buried like it sprouted out of the ground.
For more photos and videos by Mark Lewis visit mlewisphotovideo.com
For more <a href="http://www.mlewisphotovideo.com/favorites" rel="nofollow">photos </a>and <a href="http://www.mlewisphotovideo.com/video" rel="nofollow">videos </a>by <a href="mailto:mark@mlewisphotovideo.com" rel="nofollow">Mark Lewis </a>visit <a href="http://www.mlewisphotovideo.com/home" rel="nofollow">www.mlewisphotovideo.com</a>
download the mother's day card free at dabbled.org
www.dabbled.org/2009/05/mom-bot-mothers-day-cards-free-do...
(3 versions... Soccer Mom, Coffee Mom, and Martini Mom)
Taken from the Hushan section of the Great Wall of China.
Hushan, in Liaoning province, 15 km northeast of Dandong, is the easternmost section of the Great Wall of China. (That is to say, the easternmost known to date...) About 600 meters of the wall were excavated here in 1989 and, in 1992, a section was renovated and open to the public. The section runs about 1,200 meters over the top of Hushan Mountain.
The wall was built during the Ming Dynasty. The wall, like the nearby city of Dandong, were established to guard against Korean invaders from the south.
As far as sections of the wall go, this is probably about as common as the other renovated sections I've been to (Badaling, Mutianyu, Juyongguan). What makes this distinctive -- along with being the easternmost section -- is its proximity to the North Korean border. Hushan Mountain, at many points, is within 15-20 meters of sovereign North Korean soil. It's quite fascinating to be that close to that country without having the massive DMZ that you find on the southern end of the DPRK. It makes it feel like a more "naked look" into that nation.
One more week to get your entries in! Contest ends 2/12.
'
1. "Kiss Me Deadly" poisoned lipstick, 2. Crazy for you, 3. Bitter Candy Hearts Bracelet, 4. anti-valentines card, 5. Black Mended Heart Necklace, 6. I tore my heart out for you, 7. ATC-AntiVal2009, 8. lovelost_3, 9. HeartLine, 10. I Heart Maggots, 11. True Love, 12. 2009_365_013 Black Heart Anti-Valentine
Created with fd's Flickr Toys.
At UT I dabbled in metal casting and fabrication. For my final I had this idea for a one-man grill. It is kind of lonely but with a sense of humor, something close to independence. The Steak Grill is made of steel and based on measurements from what was a delicious steak. It was some of the most fun I have had working on a school project and I have wanted to get back into a metal shop like that ever since.
The best part is it works. I guess you could only do one side of a T-bone but a couple dogs and a burger is perfect. The Steak Grill has had a few homes over the years and was trapped in a busted car trunk for a while.
Now that the grill is preserved in pictures I would like to try to get the rust off, or at least keep it from getting worse. Even if it was clean I am not sure how to keep it that way and still be able to eat off of it.
The Steak Grill won me an “A” and I have the pictures so maybe it is time for it to retire to rust somewhere permanent with the base buried like it sprouted out of the ground.
For more photos and videos by Mark Lewis visit mlewisphotovideo.com
For more <a href="http://www.mlewisphotovideo.com/favorites" rel="nofollow">photos </a>and <a href="http://www.mlewisphotovideo.com/video" rel="nofollow">videos </a>by <a href="mailto:mark@mlewisphotovideo.com" rel="nofollow">Mark Lewis </a>visit <a href="http://www.mlewisphotovideo.com/home" rel="nofollow">www.mlewisphotovideo.com</a>
Photographed at Zealandia, Karori Sanctuary.
Family: Anatidae (Dabbling ducks)
Status: endangered endemic
Brown teal is one of three closely related species of teal in New Zealand. The other two being the flightless subantarctic Auckland teal and Campbell Island teal.
Once common throughout New Zealand, habitat destruction, especially swamp drainage and predation, have resulted in brown teal becoming one of our most nationally endangered species of waterfowl. Approximately 1300 birds were surviving nationwide in 1999making it one of the rarest ducks in the world!
Most birds are to be found on Great Barrier Island. There are a few brown teal on Kapiti, Mana, and Tiritiri Matangi Islands, the eastern side of Northland and a new population has recently been established in the Coromandel area. Brown teal are regularly present at the Waikanae Estuary, probably part of the Kapiti Island population.
In the South Island, a few birds survive in Fiordland.
Recognition: About half the size of the common mallard duck, brown teal stand 48cm tall and weigh just over half a kilo as an adult. The male is slightly larger than the female. Brown teal have a warm brown plumage, with dark-brown mottling on the breast. Breeding males have a glossy green head, a narrow white collar, broad green and narrow white bands on the wings and a white flank patch. A distinctive feature of all brown teal is their blue-black bill and the narrow white ring around the eye. Their eyes are brown. Males give a soft whistle, and the female a low quack and growl.
Brown teal are often referred to as bush ducks, since they prefer stream and bushland habitats. They are reluctant flyers and are shallow divers, dabbling just below the surface for food. Their favourite food is invertebrates and they mainly feed in the evening or at night.
Breeding: Most brown teal breed from June to October but are able to breed at almost any time of the year.
They begin breeding at about 2 years of age and can lay clutches of up to 8 eggs. • Brown teal build a bowl-shaped nest near water, under the cover of dense tussocks or ferns, constructed with grasses lined with down. The female incubates the eggs about 30 days while the drake guards the nest - they are strongly territorial during breeding. Chicks fledge at an age of about 2 months. Brown teal pairs generally have stable relationships. The oldest known teal in the wild lived over 6 years.
Brown teal at Karori Sanctuary. 18 brown teal were initially released in 2000 and 2001. Breeding started from late 2002 and good productivity has resulted in increased competition for preferred wetland habitats and, because these habitats are limited in the Sanctuary, losses have occurred as a result.
Supplementary feeding of maize has been largely discontinued since early 2006 to reduce productivity and competition for territories.
Genetic analysis of the population in 2006-2007 should clarify whether or not there has been a loss of genetic diversity and whether additional birds need to be released into the population in future.
Active monitoring over the breeding season has ceased due to the fact that the population is self-sustaining.
Brown teal are readily seen on the lower and upper lakes. Being forest dwellers as well as water dwellers, some are being regularly seen at the kaka feeders below the upper dam at dusk and also at the southern end of the Faultline Track. The brown teal’s omnivorous diet, restricted annual range and mainly terrestrial lifestyle give it a unique ecological niche among waterfowl, somewhat akin to a wetland rodent, and it serves as a classic example of the influence of selective forces that operated on birds in pre-human New Zealand.
One of the most rare ducks in the world! Photographed at Zealandia, Karori Sanctuary, Wellington, New Zealand.
Family: Anatidae (Dabbling ducks)
Status: endangered endemic
Brown teal is one of three closely related species of teal in New Zealand. The other two being the flightless subantarctic Auckland teal and Campbell Island teal.
Once common throughout New Zealand, habitat destruction, especially swamp drainage and predation, have resulted in brown teal becoming one of our most nationally endangered species of waterfowl. Approximately 1300 birds were surviving nationwide in 1999making it one of the rarest ducks in the world!
Most birds are to be found on Great Barrier Island. There are a few brown teal on Kapiti, Mana, and Tiritiri Matangi Islands, the eastern side of Northland and a new population has recently been established in the Coromandel area. Brown teal are regularly present at the Waikanae Estuary, probably part of the Kapiti Island population.
In the South Island, a few birds survive in Fiordland.
Recognition: About half the size of the common mallard duck, brown teal stand 48cm tall and weigh just over half a kilo as an adult. The male is slightly larger than the female. Brown teal have a warm brown plumage, with dark-brown mottling on the breast. Breeding males have a glossy green head, a narrow white collar, broad green and narrow white bands on the wings and a white flank patch. A distinctive feature of all brown teal is their blue-black bill and the narrow white ring around the eye. Their eyes are brown. Males give a soft whistle, and the female a low quack and growl.
Brown teal are often referred to as bush ducks, since they prefer stream and bushland habitats. They are reluctant flyers and are shallow divers, dabbling just below the surface for food. Their favourite food is invertebrates and they mainly feed in the evening or at night.
Breeding: Most brown teal breed from June to October but are able to breed at almost any time of the year.
They begin breeding at about 2 years of age and can lay clutches of up to 8 eggs. • Brown teal build a bowl-shaped nest near water, under the cover of dense tussocks or ferns, constructed with grasses lined with down. The female incubates the eggs about 30 days while the drake guards the nest - they are strongly territorial during breeding. Chicks fledge at an age of about 2 months. Brown teal pairs generally have stable relationships. The oldest known teal in the wild lived over 6 years.
Brown teal at Karori Sanctuary. 18 brown teal were initially released in 2000 and 2001. Breeding started from late 2002 and good productivity has resulted in increased competition for preferred wetland habitats and, because these habitats are limited in the Sanctuary, losses have occurred as a result.
Supplementary feeding of maize has been largely discontinued since early 2006 to reduce productivity and competition for territories.
Genetic analysis of the population in 2006-2007 should clarify whether or not there has been a loss of genetic diversity and whether additional birds need to be released into the population in future.
Active monitoring over the breeding season was ceased in 200x due to the fact that the population is self-sustaining.
Brown teal are readily seen on the lower and upper lakes. Being forest dwellers as well as water dwellers, some are being regularly seen at the kaka feeders below the upper dam at dusk and also at the southern end of the Faultline Track. The brown teal’s omnivorous diet, restricted annual range and mainly terrestrial lifestyle give it a unique ecological niche among waterfowl, somewhat akin to a wetland rodent, and it serves as a classic example of the influence of selective forces that operated on birds in pre-human New Zealand.
One of the most rare ducks in the world! Photographed at Zealandia, Karori Sanctuary, Wellington, New Zealand.
Family: Anatidae (Dabbling ducks)
Status: endangered endemic
Brown teal is one of three closely related species of teal in New Zealand. The other two being the flightless subantarctic Auckland teal and Campbell Island teal.
Once common throughout New Zealand, habitat destruction, especially swamp drainage and predation, have resulted in brown teal becoming one of our most nationally endangered species of waterfowl. Approximately 1300 birds were surviving nationwide in 1999making it one of the rarest ducks in the world!
Most birds are to be found on Great Barrier Island. There are a few brown teal on Kapiti, Mana, and Tiritiri Matangi Islands, the eastern side of Northland and a new population has recently been established in the Coromandel area. Brown teal are regularly present at the Waikanae Estuary, probably part of the Kapiti Island population.
In the South Island, a few birds survive in Fiordland.
Recognition: About half the size of the common mallard duck, brown teal stand 48cm tall and weigh just over half a kilo as an adult. The male is slightly larger than the female. Brown teal have a warm brown plumage, with dark-brown mottling on the breast. Breeding males have a glossy green head, a narrow white collar, broad green and narrow white bands on the wings and a white flank patch. A distinctive feature of all brown teal is their blue-black bill and the narrow white ring around the eye. Their eyes are brown. Males give a soft whistle, and the female a low quack and growl.
Brown teal are often referred to as bush ducks, since they prefer stream and bushland habitats. They are reluctant flyers and are shallow divers, dabbling just below the surface for food. Their favourite food is invertebrates and they mainly feed in the evening or at night.
Breeding: Most brown teal breed from June to October but are able to breed at almost any time of the year.
They begin breeding at about 2 years of age and can lay clutches of up to 8 eggs. • Brown teal build a bowl-shaped nest near water, under the cover of dense tussocks or ferns, constructed with grasses lined with down. The female incubates the eggs about 30 days while the drake guards the nest - they are strongly territorial during breeding. Chicks fledge at an age of about 2 months. Brown teal pairs generally have stable relationships. The oldest known teal in the wild lived over 6 years.
Brown teal at Karori Sanctuary. 18 brown teal were initially released in 2000 and 2001. Breeding started from late 2002 and good productivity has resulted in increased competition for preferred wetland habitats and, because these habitats are limited in the Sanctuary, losses have occurred as a result.
Supplementary feeding of maize has been largely discontinued since early 2006 to reduce productivity and competition for territories.
Genetic analysis of the population in 2006-2007 should clarify whether or not there has been a loss of genetic diversity and whether additional birds need to be released into the population in future.
Active monitoring over the breeding season was ceased in 200x due to the fact that the population is self-sustaining.
Brown teal are readily seen on the lower and upper lakes. Being forest dwellers as well as water dwellers, some are being regularly seen at the kaka feeders below the upper dam at dusk and also at the southern end of the Faultline Track. The brown teal’s omnivorous diet, restricted annual range and mainly terrestrial lifestyle give it a unique ecological niche among waterfowl, somewhat akin to a wetland rodent, and it serves as a classic example of the influence of selective forces that operated on birds in pre-human New Zealand.
Mallard Duck
The Mallard or Wild Duck is a Dabbling Duck which breeds throughout the temperate and subtropical Americas, Europe, Asia, and North Africa, and has been introduced to New Zealand, Australia, Peru, Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina, Chile, the Falkland Islands and South Africa. This duck belongs to the subfamily Anatinae of the waterfowl family Anatidae.
The male birds (drakes) have a glossy green head and are grey on wings and belly, while the females have mainly brown-speckled plumage. Mallards live in wetlands, eat water plants and small animals, and are gregarious. This species is the ancestor of most breeds of domestic ducks.
Lake Takanassee
Lake Takanassee is downstream of Whale Pond Brook, which flows through the Monmouth University campus in West Long Branch.
Dabbling in mono.. all shots are straight out of the camera..not my shadow, but that of a passer- by.
Westover Road, Bournemouth 18.11.2014
1. Felt and old wool sweater (shrink it!)., 2. Cut our your ornament shapes, 3. Cut a 'window' in one of your two halves, 4. Materials: sweater material, old plastic packaging (flexible and clear), embroidery thread, ribbon or thread for hanging, 5. Cut a square out of your packagin slightly larger than the window., 6. sew the window on to your sweater, 7. Window sewn in, 8. Stitch the two pieces together,, 9. Leave a space large enough to stuff/insert picture., 10. Stich around the window to cover your thread, 11. Ready to stuff: insert picture, and stuff, and then stitch closed, 12. Hang on tree!
Created with fd's Flickr Toys.
At UT I dabbled in metal casting and fabrication. For my final I had this idea for a one-man grill. It is kind of lonely but with a sense of humor, something close to independence. The Steak Grill is made of steel and based on measurements from what was a delicious steak. It was some of the most fun I have had working on a school project and I have wanted to get back into a metal shop like that ever since.
The best part is it works. I guess you could only do one side of a T-bone but a couple dogs and a burger is perfect. The Steak Grill has had a few homes over the years and was trapped in a busted car trunk for a while.
Now that the grill is preserved in pictures I would like to try to get the rust off, or at least keep it from getting worse. Even if it was clean I am not sure how to keep it that way and still be able to eat off of it.
The Steak Grill won me an “A” and I have the pictures so maybe it is time for it to retire to rust somewhere permanent with the base buried like it sprouted out of the ground.
For more photos and videos by Mark Lewis visit mlewisphotovideo.com
For more <a href="http://www.mlewisphotovideo.com/favorites" rel="nofollow">photos </a>and <a href="http://www.mlewisphotovideo.com/video" rel="nofollow">videos </a>by <a href="mailto:mark@mlewisphotovideo.com" rel="nofollow">Mark Lewis </a>visit <a href="http://www.mlewisphotovideo.com/home" rel="nofollow">www.mlewisphotovideo.com</a>
Dabbling in a bit of street photography, I noticed this woman and child, quite oblivious of the clash her cardigan was making. This could have been 1968, but wasn't.
The Mallard, or wild duck (Anas platyrhynchos) is a dabbling duck which breeds throughout the temperate and subtropical Americas.
El ánade real o azulón (Anas platyrhynchos) es una especie de ave anseriforme de la familia Anatidae. Es un pato de superficie común y muy extendido.
Dabbling with macro lens at f/2.8 and no focus stacking, given a slight textured effect in PS ... probably not everyone’s cup of tea ...
At UT I dabbled in metal casting and fabrication. For my final I had this idea for a one-man grill. It is kind of lonely but with a sense of humor, something close to independence. The Steak Grill is made of steel and based on measurements from what was a delicious steak. It was some of the most fun I have had working on a school project and I have wanted to get back into a metal shop like that ever since.
The best part is it works. I guess you could only do one side of a T-bone but a couple dogs and a burger is perfect. The Steak Grill has had a few homes over the years and was trapped in a busted car trunk for a while.
Now that the grill is preserved in pictures I would like to try to get the rust off, or at least keep it from getting worse. Even if it was clean I am not sure how to keep it that way and still be able to eat off of it.
The Steak Grill won me an “A” and I have the pictures so maybe it is time for it to retire to rust somewhere permanent with the base buried like it sprouted out of the ground.
For more photos and videos by Mark Lewis visit mlewisphotovideo.com
For more <a href="http://www.mlewisphotovideo.com/favorites" rel="nofollow">photos </a>and <a href="http://www.mlewisphotovideo.com/video" rel="nofollow">videos </a>by <a href="mailto:mark@mlewisphotovideo.com" rel="nofollow">Mark Lewis </a>visit <a href="http://www.mlewisphotovideo.com/home" rel="nofollow">www.mlewisphotovideo.com</a>
in case you missed it on facebook
"Go sanders"
A Goosander duck and seven ducklings seen dabbling in Goldrill Beck, Patterdale, Cumbria.
The fun starts about 22 seconds in.
6yrold was a little low energy after return from the hair salon on this warm day. Better view of this in the light box.
Just dabbling in the rooftop scene in Toronto in the likes of Neil Ta or Ronnie Yip just to name a couple of the awesome rooftoppers. Although, this rooftop I was on is a rooftop patio, so the risk/awesome factor is not as high as those other guys.
Mallard Ducklings
The mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) is a dabbling duck which breeds throughout the temperate and subtropical Americas, Europe, Asia, and North Africa. The male birds (drakes) have a glossy green head and are grey on wings and belly, while the females (hens or ducks) have mainly brown-speckled plumage. Both sexes have an area of white-bordered black speculum feathers which commonly also include iridescent blue feathers especially among males. Mallards live in wetlands, eat water plants and small animals, and are social animals.
Mayesbrook Park (Barking), Britain’s first climate change park, is an attractive nature reserve with a newly restored river landscape. The Mayes brook has been brought back into the park within a widened meandering river channel creating an attractive river landscape to help the park to cope with more extreme changes in climate including heavy rainfall and drought. This new river system, with a gravel river bed and banks, provides an ideal wetland habitat for wildlife and at times of high rainfall it is able to rise in a controlled and natural way within a newly created floodplain.
The southern section of the park features two large lakes which are rich in wildlife. Aquatic plants such as reeds and rushes have been planted in ponds and backwaters, creating a rich habitat for wetland species. With over 40 hectares of open space, the park recently received a Mayor of London Safer Parks Silver award for high standards of site safety and policing.
One of the rarest ducks in the world!
Photographed at Zealandia, Wellington, New Zealand.
Family: Anatidae (Dabbling ducks)
Status: endangered, endemic to New Zealand.
Brown teal are one of three closely related species of teal in New Zealand. The other two being the flightless subantarctic Auckland teal and Campbell Island teal.
Once common throughout New Zealand, habitat destruction, especially swamp drainage and predation, have resulted in brown teal becoming one of our most nationally endangered species of waterfowl. Approximately 1300 birds were surviving nationwide in 1999 making it one of the rarest ducks in the world!
Most birds are to be found on Great Barrier Island. There are a few brown teal on Kapiti, Mana, and Tiritiri Matangi Islands, the eastern side of Northland and a new population has recently been established in the Coromandel area. Brown teal are regularly present at the Waikanae Estuary, probably part of the Kapiti Island population.
In the South Island, a few birds survive in Fiordland.
Recognition: About half the size of the common mallard duck, brown teal stand 48cm tall and weigh just over half a kilo as an adult. The male is slightly larger than the female. Brown teal have a warm brown plumage, with dark-brown mottling on the breast. Breeding males have a glossy green head, a narrow white collar, broad green and narrow white bands on the wings and a white flank patch. A distinctive feature of all brown teal is their blue-black bill and the narrow white ring around the eye. Their eyes are brown. Males give a soft whistle, and the female a low quack and growl.
Brown teal are often referred to as bush ducks, since they prefer stream and bushland habitats. They are reluctant flyers and are shallow divers, dabbling just below the surface for food. Their favourite food is invertebrates and they mainly feed in the evening or at night.
Breeding: Most brown teal breed from June to October but are able to breed at almost any time of the year.
They begin breeding at about 2 years of age and can lay clutches of up to 8 eggs. Brown teal build a bowl-shaped nest near water, under the cover of dense tussocks or ferns, constructed with grasses lined with down. The female incubates the eggs about 30 days while the drake guards the nest - they are strongly territorial during breeding. Chicks fledge at an age of about 2 months. Brown teal pairs generally have stable relationships. The oldest known teal in the wild lived over 6 years.
Brown teal at Karori Sanctuary. 18 brown teal were initially released in 2000 and 2001. Breeding started from late 2002 and good productivity has been achieved.
Brown teal are readily seen on the lower and upper lakes. Being forest dwellers as well as water dwellers, some are being regularly seen at the kaka feeders below the upper dam at dusk and also at the southern end of the Faultline Track. The brown teal’s omnivorous diet, restricted annual range and mainly terrestrial lifestyle give it a unique ecological niche among waterfowl, somewhat akin to a wetland rodent, and it serves as a classic example of the influence of selective forces that operated on birds in pre-human New Zealand.
The pateke at Zealandia have babies - great news for one of the rarest ducks in the world!
Family: Anatidae (Dabbling ducks)
Status: endangered endemic
Brown teal is one of three closely related species of teal in New Zealand. The other two being the flightless subantarctic Auckland teal and Campbell Island teal.
Once common throughout New Zealand, habitat destruction, especially swamp drainage and predation, have resulted in brown teal becoming one of our most nationally endangered species of waterfowl. Approximately 1300 birds were surviving nationwide in 1999making it one of the rarest ducks in the world!
Most birds are to be found on Great Barrier Island. There are a few brown teal on Kapiti, Mana, and Tiritiri Matangi Islands, the eastern side of Northland and a new population has recently been established in the Coromandel area. Brown teal are regularly present at the Waikanae Estuary, probably part of the Kapiti Island population.
In the South Island, a few birds survive in Fiordland.
Recognition: About half the size of the common mallard duck, brown teal stand 48cm tall and weigh just over half a kilo as an adult. The male is slightly larger than the female. Brown teal have a warm brown plumage, with dark-brown mottling on the breast. Breeding males have a glossy green head, a narrow white collar, broad green and narrow white bands on the wings and a white flank patch. A distinctive feature of all brown teal is their blue-black bill and the narrow white ring around the eye. Their eyes are brown. Males give a soft whistle, and the female a low quack and growl.
Brown teal are often referred to as bush ducks, since they prefer stream and bushland habitats. They are reluctant flyers and are shallow divers, dabbling just below the surface for food. Their favourite food is invertebrates and they mainly feed in the evening or at night.
Breeding: Most brown teal breed from June to October but are able to breed at almost any time of the year.
They begin breeding at about 2 years of age and can lay clutches of up to 8 eggs. • Brown teal build a bowl-shaped nest near water, under the cover of dense tussocks or ferns, constructed with grasses lined with down. The female incubates the eggs about 30 days while the drake guards the nest - they are strongly territorial during breeding. Chicks fledge at an age of about 2 months. Brown teal pairs generally have stable relationships. The oldest known teal in the wild lived over 6 years.
Brown teal at Karori Sanctuary. 18 brown teal were initially released in 2000 and 2001. Breeding started from late 2002 and good productivity has resulted in increased competition for preferred wetland habitats and, because these habitats are limited in the Sanctuary, losses have occurred as a result.
Supplementary feeding of maize has been largely discontinued since early 2006 to reduce productivity and competition for territories.
Genetic analysis of the population in 2006-2007 should clarify whether or not there has been a loss of genetic diversity and whether additional birds need to be released into the population in future.
Active monitoring over the breeding season has ceased due to the fact that the population is self-sustaining.
Brown teal are readily seen on the lower and upper lakes. Being forest dwellers as well as water dwellers, some are being regularly seen at the kaka feeders below the upper dam at dusk and also at the southern end of the Faultline Track. The brown teal’s omnivorous diet, restricted annual range and mainly terrestrial lifestyle give it a unique ecological niche among waterfowl, somewhat akin to a wetland rodent, and it serves as a classic example of the influence of selective forces that operated on birds in pre-human New Zealand.
2007 Photograph, Pair of Green-winged Teal Dabbling (Anas carolinensis, Duck Family Anatidae), Huntley Meadows, Alexandria, Virginia © 2020.
Dabbling With Topaz
Innsbruck, capital of Austria’s western state of Tyrol, is a city in the Alps that's long been a destination for winter sports. Innsbruck is also known for its Imperial and modern architecture.
The Mallard is a dabbling duck which breeds throughout the temperate and subtropical Americas, Europe, Asia, and North Africa, and has been introduced to New Zealand and Australia. This duck belongs to the subfamily Anatinae of the waterfowl family Anatidae.
The male birds (drakes) have a glossy green head and are grey on wings and belly, while the females have mainly brown-speckled plumage. Mallards live in wetlands, eat water plants and small animals, and are gregarious. This species is the ancestor of most breeds of domestic ducks.
The Mallard is a medium-sized waterfowl species although is often slightly heavier than most other dabbling ducks. It is 50–65 cm (20–26 in) long (of which the body makes up around two-thirds), has a wingspan of 81–98 cm (32–39 in), and weighs 0.72–1.58 kg (1.6–3.5 lb). Among standard measurements, the wing chord is 25.7 to 30.6 cm (10.1 to 12.0 in), the bill is 4.4 to 6.1 cm (1.7 to 2.4 in) and the tarsus is 4.1 to 4.8 cm (1.6 to 1.9 in). The breeding male Mallard is unmistakable, with a glossy bottle-green head and white collar which demarcates the head from the purple-tinged brown breast, grey brown wings, and a pale grey belly. The rear of the male is black, with the dark tail having white borders. The bill of the male is a yellowish orange tipped with black while that of the female is generally darker ranging from black to mottled orange. The female Mallard is predominantly mottled with each individual feather showing sharp contrast from buff to very dark brown, a coloration shared by most female dabbling ducks, and has buff cheeks, eyebrow, throat and neck with a darker crown and eye-stripe. Both male and female Mallards have distinct iridescent purple blue speculum feathers edged with white, prominent in flight or at rest, though temporarily shed during the annual summer moult. Upon hatching, the plumage colouring of the duckling is yellow on the underside and face (with streaks by the eyes) and black on the backside (with some yellow spots) all the way to the top and back of the head. Its legs and bill are also black. As it nears a month in age, the duckling's plumage will start becoming drab, looking more like the female (though its plumage is more streaked) and its legs will lose their dark grey colouring. Two months after hatching, the fledgling period has ended and the duckling is now a juvenile. Between three to four months of age, the juvenile can finally begin flying as its wings are fully developed for flight (which can be confirmed by the sight of purple speculum feathers). Its bill will soon lose its dark grey colouring and its sex can finally be distinguished by three factors. The bill colouring is yellow in males, black and orange for females. The breast feathers are reddish-brown for males, brown for females. The centre tail feather is curled for males (called a drake feather), straight for females.[citation needed]
During the final period of maturity leading up to adulthood (6–10 months of age), the plumage of female juveniles remains the same while the plumage of male juveniles slowly changes to its characteristic colours.[citation needed] This plumage change also applies to adult Mallard males when they transition in and out of their non-breeding eclipse plumage at the beginning and the end of the summer moulting period. The adulthood age for Mallards is 14 months and the average life expectancy is 20 years.
A male Mallard's head
Several species of duck have brown-plumaged females which can be confused with the female Mallard. The female Gadwall (A. strepera) has an orange-lined bill, white belly, black and white speculum which is seen as a white square on the wings in flight, and is a smaller bird. More similar to the female Mallard in North America are the American Black Duck (A. rubripes), which is notably darker hued in both sexes than the Mallard, and the Mottled Duck (A. fulvigula), which is somewhat darker than the female Mallard, with no white edge on the speculum and slightly different bare-part colouration.
In captivity, domestic ducks come in wild-type plumages, white, and other colours. Most of these colour variants are also known in domestic Mallards not bred as livestock, but kept as pets, aviary birds, etc., where they are rare but increasing in availability.
A noisy species, the male has a nasal call, and a high-pitched whistle, while the female has a deeper quack stereotypically associated with ducks.
The Mallard is a rare example of both Allen's Rule and Bergmann's Rule in birds. Bergmann's Rule, which states that polar forms tend to be larger than related ones from warmer climates, has numerous examples in birds. Allen's Rule says that appendages like ears tend to be smaller in polar forms to minimize heat loss, and larger in tropical and desert equivalents to facilitate heat diffusion, and that the polar taxa are stockier overall. Examples of this rule in birds are rare, as they lack external ears. However, the bill of ducks is very well supplied with blood vessels and is vulnerable to cold.
Due to the malleability of the Mallard's genetic code, which gives it its vast interbreeding capability, mutations in the genes that decide plumage colour are very common and have resulted in a wide variety of hybrids such as Brewer's Duck.
THIS IS AN ELLESMERE PORT BIRD ..... WOW...
At UT I dabbled in metal casting and fabrication. For my final I had this idea for a one-man grill. It is kind of lonely but with a sense of humor, something close to independence. The Steak Grill is made of steel and based on measurements from what was a delicious steak. It was some of the most fun I have had working on a school project and I have wanted to get back into a metal shop like that ever since.
The best part is it works. I guess you could only do one side of a T-bone but a couple dogs and a burger is perfect. The Steak Grill has had a few homes over the years and was trapped in a busted car trunk for a while.
Now that the grill is preserved in pictures I would like to try to get the rust off, or at least keep it from getting worse. Even if it was clean I am not sure how to keep it that way and still be able to eat off of it.
The Steak Grill won me an “A” and I have the pictures so maybe it is time for it to retire to rust somewhere permanent with the base buried like it sprouted out of the ground.
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