A migratory dabbling duck from the Palearctic region that winters in India and found commonly across the region in small shallow lakes and ponds - usually on the edges. They are always seen in large flocks and are easy prey if alone. About 40-45 cms long and weighing about 300-400g, they are medium sized ducks and unmistakable - one of the easy ones to id. The thick white crescent supercilium over the eye and the brown head and breast - they are distinctive.

A large number of ducks have made a small city lake home for this winter and we are having a good time shooting the variety of waders in that place. I wanted a flight shot of Garganey for years now and never could manage one - but finally am happy with this one. There was a pack of 5-6 dogs that were happy with the good number of waders that made the lake home. So they went on a chasing spree and these ducks had to take flight!

Thanks in advance for your views and feedback - very much appreciated.

Dabbling in infrared along a hiking trail at Swan Lake, Victoria, Vancouver Island, BC.

This is not the sharpest pic by any stretch but the coolness of infrared far outweighs sharpness by a long shot.

This photo was captured on a wee Panasonic DMC-ZF5 point-and-shoot infrared converted camera which a friend of mine recently sent me as I expressed a keen interest in exploring a new photography world.

Here’s an excerpt from Photography Life regarding Infrared photography:

“Infrared, or “IR” photography, offers photographers of all abilities and budgets the opportunity to explore a new world – the world of the unseen. Why “unseen”? Because our eyes literally cannot see IR light, as it lies just beyond what is classified as the “visible” spectrum – that which human eyesight can detect. When we take photographs using infrared-equipped film or cameras, we are exposed to the world that can often look very different from that we are accustomed to seeing. Colors, textures, leaves and plants, human skin, and all other manner of objects can reflect IR light in unique and interesting ways, ones that cannot be mimicked with tools such as Photoshop (yes – there are limits to what Photoshop can do!).”

A male Wood Duck with all his splendid colours!

That's what three halves add up to, isn't it? I'm starting to get the hang of this lining my ducks up.

Happy Silly Saturday, and have a good weekend. Get out and dabble in something.

This large dabbling duck is a non-migratory breeding bird throughout freshwater wetlands in the Indian subcontinent. The white tertials that form a stripe on the side makes it recognizable from a distance and in flight it is distinguished by the green speculum with a broad white band at the base.

Reflections are the focus for our December photo club competition. I remembered this encounter but definitely not this one frame. Loving the symmetry, colors and ambience of this moment. Calling this Moor romance because these Common Gallinues were previously called common moorhens and this is a courtship interaction. I'd say common sells these brackish water dabblers short! That red and yellow coloring of their bills and legs is really quite stricking.

Mallards (Anas platyrhynchos).

Rio Grande Nature Center, Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA.

9373

Mottled brown dabbling duck with distinctive striped head pattern. Note purple/green metallic panel on wing and slightly domed head. Common throughout range, often found on or beside ponds, wetlands, and rivers. Hybridizes with Mallard. Similar to female Mallard but note Pacific Black Duck’s darker coloration and distinctive striped cream head with gray bill, darker legs and feet. Also look for green speculum with black border in flight. (eBird)

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This was one of the closest pure-bred Pacific Black Ducks that we saw throughout NZ. The majority appeared to be hybrids with mallards. Similar to the situation here in Ontario, the Mallards are breeding with their respective Black Duck cousins and the pure-breds are slowly disappearing.

Fiordland National Park, Southland, New Zealand. March 2024.

Roadrunner Birding Tours.

Colliers Reserve Country Club

Southwest Florida

USA

Male is in the background.

The mottled duck (Anas fulvigula) or mottled mallard is a medium-sized dabbling duck. It is intermediate in appearance between the female mallard and the American black duck. It is closely related to those species, and is sometimes considered a subspecies of the former, but this is inappropriate (see systematics).

There are two distinct populations of mottled ducks. One population, A. fulvigula maculosa (mottled duck), lives on the Gulf of Mexico coast between Alabama and Tamaulipas (Mexico); outside the breeding season individual birds may venture as far south as to Veracruz. The other, A. fulvigula fulvigula (Florida duck), is resident in central and south Florida and occasionally strays north to Georgia. The same disjunct distribution pattern was also historically found in the local sandhill cranes.

Along the Gulf of Mexico coast, the mottled duck is one of the most frequently banded waterfowl. This is due in part to the fact that it is mostly non-migratory. Approximately one out of every twenty mottled ducks is banded, making it an extremely prized and sought after bird among hunters.- Wikipedia

This member of the "Dabbling Ducks" family is found in virtually every wetland habitat containing water shallow enough they can tip up in to forage on water vegetation and aquatic invertebrates. This species is the most familiar of all the 20 species of ducks common in Ontario.

The mallard is an ancestor to most all domestic duck breeds and will hybridize with a number of other species.

This female is surface feeding on the Crowe River near a tiny island.

Teals are small dabbling ducks. Males have chestnut coloured heads with broad green eye-patches, a spotted chest, grey flanks and a black edged yellow tail. Females are mottled brown. Both show bright green wing patches (speculum) in flight. They are thinly distributed as a breeding species with a preference for northern moors and mires.

In winter, birds congregate in low-lying wetlands in the south and west of the UK. Of these, many are continental birds from around the Baltic and Siberia. At this time, the UK is home to a significant percentage of the NW European wintering population making it an Amber List species.

Taken @ kidwelly

Click on image for larger view

Taken at Slimbridge WWT.

Shoveler - Verulamium 18-12-2014 5D2A1201

The mallard is a dabbling duck that breeds throughout the temperate and subtropical Americas, Eurasia, and North Africa, and has been introduced to New Zealand, Australia, Peru, Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina, Chile, Colombia, the Falkland Islands, and South Africa.

Dabbling

Northern Pintail Drake getting his beautiful plumage very dirty while feeding on the mudflats at E B Forsythe NWR, NJ on 1/23/2020

2020_01_23_EOS 7D Mark II_2831-Edit_V1

A dabbling duck primarily vegetarian. Photographed in Basque del Apache NWR, New Mexico.

Two mallards in Bowmont Park, Calgary. The male is watching the female dabble. Mallards are the largest or the dabbling lucks. - Anas platyrhynchos.

Northern Shoveler Duck, at the Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge. December 2019.

Photographed at RSPB Frampton Marsh {Lincolnshire, UK}.

Roseate Spoonbill (Platalea ajaja)

The Pacific black duck (Anas superciliosa), commonly known as the PBD, is a dabbling duck found in much of Indonesia, New Guinea, Australia, New Zealand, and many islands in the southwestern Pacific, reaching to the Caroline Islands in the north and French Polynesia in the east. It is usually called the grey duck in New Zealand, where it is also known by its Maori name, pārera. This sociable duck is found in a variety of wetland habitats, and its nesting habits are much like those of the mallard, which is encroaching on its range in New Zealand. It feeds by upending, like other Anas ducks. The Pacific Black Duck is mainly vegetarian, feeding on seeds of aquatic plants. This diet is supplemented with small crustaceans, molluscs and aquatic insects. 54527

A term that means they feed by floating on the water and tipping themselves forward, butts in the air. Mallards are among the most abundant Ducks in the world, estimated U.S. population to be 11.6 million birds. Also the most heavily hunted of all ducks.

A distinctive dabbling duck endemic to southern South America, inhabiting freshwater marshes, lagoons, and coastal wetlands from Chile and Argentina to the Falkland Islands. Males are adorned with vibrant chestnut plumage, contrasting black-and-white wing patches, and a striking, oversized shovel-shaped bill adapted for filter-feeding. Females exhibit more subdued tones—mottled brown feathers with subtle streaks—providing camouflage while nesting. Both sexes forage by sifting shallow waters for aquatic invertebrates, seeds, and algae, using their specialized bills to strain food. Often observed in pairs or small flocks, they thrive in calm, vegetated wetlands where they feed and rest.

• Red shoveler

• Pato pico cuchara sudamericano

Scientific classification:

Kingdom:Animalia

Phylum:Chordata

Class:Aves

Order:Anseriformes

Family:Anatidae

Genus:Spatula

Species:S. platalea

Laguna Nimez, El Calafate, Lago Argentino, Santa Cruz, Argentina

A migratory dabbling duck from the Palearctic region that winters in India and found commonly across the region in small shallow lakes and ponds - usually on the edges. They are always seen in large flocks and are easy prey if alone. About 40-45 cms long and weighing about 300-400g, they are medium sized ducks and unmistakable - one of the easy ones to id. The thick white crescent supercilium over the eye and the brown head and breast - they are distinctive.

A large number of ducks have made a small city lake home for this winter and we are having a good time shooting the variety of waders in that place. I wanted a flight shot of Garganey for years now and never could manage one - but finally am happy with this one.

Thanks in advance for your views and feedback - very much appreciated.

Northern Pintail pair dabbling together on the mudflats at Bombay Hook NWR in Delaware

2020_02_24_EOS 7D Mark II_6620-Edit-v1

The Pacific black duck (Anas superciliosa), commonly known as the PBD, is a dabbling duck found in much of Indonesia, New Guinea, Australia, New Zealand, and many islands in the southwestern Pacific, reaching to the Caroline Islands in the north and French Polynesia in the east. It is usually called the grey duck in New Zealand, where it is also known by its Maori name, pārera. This sociable duck is found in a variety of wetland habitats, and its nesting habits are much like those of the mallard, which is encroaching on its range in New Zealand. It feeds by upending, like other Anas ducks. The Pacific Black Duck is mainly vegetarian, feeding on seeds of aquatic plants. This diet is supplemented with small crustaceans, molluscs and aquatic insects. 23278

Eurasian teal..The teal is a pretty, little dabbling duck, which can be easily spotted in winter on reservoirs, gravel pits, and flooded meadows. Watching flocks of this bird wheel through a spring sky is a true delight..Teals are small dabbling ducks. Males have chestnut coloured heads with broad green eye-patches, a spotted chest, grey flanks and a black edged yellow tail. Females are mottled brown. Both show bright green wing patches (speculum) in flight. They are thinly distributed as a breeding species with a preference for northern moors and mires.

In winter, birds congregate in low-lying wetlands in the south and west of the UK. Of these, many are continental birds from around the Baltic and Siberia

Great Massingham, Norfolk

Teal:-

Teals are small dabbling ducks. Males have chestnut coloured heads with broad green eye-patches, a spotted chest, grey flanks and a black edged yellow tail. Females are mottled brown. Both show bright green wing patches (speculum) in flight. They are thinly distributed as a breeding species with a preference for northern moors and mires. In winter birds congregate in low-lying wetlands in the south and west of the UK. Of these, many are continental birds from around the Baltic and Siberia. At this time, the UK is home to a significant percentage of the NW European wintering population making it an Amber List species.

Courtesy: RSPB

This is a large dabbling Duck that is a non-migratory breeding bird throughout freshwater wetlands in the Indian subcontinent. The name is derived from the red spot at the base of the bill that is found in the mainland Indian population. It is a bird of freshwater lakes and marshes in fairly open country and feeds by dabbling for plant food mainly in the evening or at night.

A green-winged teal dabbling in the mud.

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Shovelers - Verulamium 18-12-2014 5D2A1069

Female Northern Shoveler seen at RSPB Dungeness, just dabbling.

Floating about.

Dabbling pair of Green-winged Teal at Bombay Hook NWR in Delaware.

2023_03_09_EOS 7D Mark II_5627-Edit_V1

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The Mallard, or Wild duck (Anas platyrhynchos[1]), probably the best-known and most recognizable of all ducks, is a dabbling duck which breeds throughout the temperate and sub-tropical Americas, Europe, Asia, New Zealand (where it is currently the most common duck species), and Australia.

The male birds have a bright green head, while the female's is light brown. The Mallard lives in wetlands, eats water plants, and is gregarious. It is also migratory. The Mallard is the ancestor of all domestic ducks, and can interbreed with other species of genus Anas.[2] This interbreeding is causing rarer species of ducks to become genetically diluted.

The Mallard is 56–65 centimetres (22–26 in) long, has a wingspan of 81–98 centimetres (32–39 in), and weighs 0.9–1.2 kilograms (32–42 oz). The breeding male is unmistakable, with a bright green head, black rear end and a yellowish orange (can also contain some red) bill tipped with black (as opposed to the dark brown bill in females), and is also nature's most feared duck. The female Mallard is light brown, like most female dabbling ducks. However, both the female and male Mallards have distinct purple speculum edged with white, prominent in flight or at rest (though temporarily shed during the annual summer moult). In non-breeding (eclipse) plumage the drake becomes drab, looking more like the female, but still distinguishable by its yellow bill and reddish breast.

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, the female has a "quack" stereotypically associated with ducks.[3]

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.

Northern Shovelers are winter residents of the Phoenix area. I finally got one without its face deep in the water.

The Mallard is a true "Dabbling Duck" found in virtually every wetland habitat feeding in shallow water with its tail tipped up as it forages on water vegetation and aquatic invertebrates. The Mallard is one of 20 species of ducks common in Ontario and is probably the most recognized.

This species will hybridize with a number of other species. Most all domestic duck breeds have the Mallard as their ancestor.

Pairing takes place in the fall and courtship rituals can be witnessed all winter long. Females will swim towards the male with their heads tucked low in the water and both sexes will be seen bobbing their heads.

This hen is flapping her wings after taking a bath.

Dabbling in the backwaters of a pool at Seney NWR in the upper peninsula of Michigan, this trumpeter swan is reflected in the green waters of the habitat along the shoreline

The Campbell teal or Campbell Island teal (Anas nesiotis) is a small, flightless, nocturnal species of dabbling duck of the genus Anas endemic to the Campbell Island group of New Zealand. It is sometimes considered conspecific with the brown teal. The plumage is similar to that of the Auckland teal, dark sepia with the head and back tinged with green iridescence, and a chestnut breast on the male, with the female dark brown all over. Its natural habitat is tussock grassland dominated by Poa tussock grass, ferns and megaherbs. The species also uses the burrows and pathways of petrel species that nest on the islands. They are apparently territorial in the wild, and probably feed on amphipods and insects. The IUCN classifies it as vulnerable. 15181

Wigeons are superbly entertaining and very colourful dabbling ducks!

Photographed with the benefit of some early morning sunshine.

gemsfinds.blogspot.com/2022/09/autumn-evenings.html

Teals are small dabbling ducks. Males have chestnut coloured heads with broad green eye-patches, a spotted chest, grey flanks and a black edged yellow tail. Females are mottled brown. Both show bright green wing patches (speculum) in flight. They are thinly distributed as a breeding species with a preference for northern moors and mires.

In winter, birds congregate in low-lying wetlands in the south and west of the UK. Of these, many are continental birds from around the Baltic and Siberia. At this time, the UK is home to a significant percentage of the NW European wintering population making it an Amber List species. (rspb)

Taken @ Kidwelly

Press L for larger view

A migratory dabbling duck from the Palearctic region that winters in India and found commonly across the region in small shallow lakes and ponds - usually on the edges. They are always seen in large flocks and are easy prey if alone. About 40-45 cms long and weighing about 300-400g, they are medium sized ducks and unmistakable - one of the easy ones to id. The thick white crescent supercilium over the eye and the brown head and breast - they are distinctive.

A large number of ducks have made a small city lake home for this winter and we are having a good time shooting the variety of waders in that place. I wanted a flight shot of Garganey for years now and never could manage one - but finally am happy with this one.

Thanks in advance for your views and feedback - very much appreciated.

This duck is around the same size as a Mallard and is a quite gregarious resident throughout India in freshwater wetlands. They tend to avoid very large patches of open water and prefer medium-sized wetlands with vegetation cover. They feed by dabbling for plant food mainly in the evening or at night. As seen here the female does not have the red spot on the base of the bill like the males do.

This photograph of a Pacific Black duck was taken on a sunny morning in Australia.

These birds are dabbling ducks and are known for their adaptability, thriving in natural and modified landscapes, including urban parks and reservoirs. They are strong swimmers and spend much of their time in the water, feeding on a diet that includes seeds, aquatic plants, insects, and small aquatic animals.

Males and females look very similar. Males tend to be slightly larger and may have a slightly darker crown than females, though this difference is subtle.

-Anas superciliosa

With gray skies in full "oppressive" status, I decided to experiment with something that I have never really dabbled in: Fill light. Chugging into Durand, CN L502 prepares to pass under the Newberry Road Bridge, I set one of my small lights to just get the wood support beams a little definition. At least now I can say I've done it, and I learned where to make improvements for later.

Yup, I've been dabbling with Signature Geralt again and it was "da bom". Get all the deets on my blog: billybeaverhausen.com/2020/01/23/dabbling-with-geralt-epi...