Green-Winged Teal
November 11th, 2011
Duck migration is in full swing. I went down to Andrew Haydon Park recently to enjoy the sight of teal, scaup, and other (relatively) exotic waterfowl, joining the ubiquitous mallards and canada geese in the western pond.
Every year, it seems, more and more Green-Winged Teal show up in Ottawa in migration. I never tire of their beauty.
Teal are dabbling as opposed to diving ducks. They obtain their food primarily by swimming in very shallow water and picking at the surface, or even while walking on mud flats. So I was surprised to find a group of three actively diving! I'd seen mallards diversify that way before, and it was less of a surprise, since mallards are generalists in a lot of ways. I didn't expect it from teal.
It was quite a different sight from, say, a diving scaup, which slips gracefully underwater with scarcely a ripple. These guys went in with tails spread, wings akimbo, and a loud *sploosh*.
November 11th, 2011
Duck migration is in full swing. I went down to Andrew Haydon Park recently to enjoy the sight of teal, scaup, and other (relatively) exotic waterfowl, joining the ubiquitous mallards and canada geese in the western pond.
Every year, it seems, more and more Green-Winged Teal show up in Ottawa in migration. I never tire of their beauty.
Teal are dabbling as opposed to diving ducks. They obtain their food primarily by swimming in very shallow water and picking at the surface, or even while walking on mud flats. So I was surprised to find a group of three actively diving! I'd seen mallards diversify that way before, and it was less of a surprise, since mallards are generalists in a lot of ways. I didn't expect it from teal.
It was quite a different sight from, say, a diving scaup, which slips gracefully underwater with scarcely a ripple. These guys went in with tails spread, wings akimbo, and a loud *sploosh*.
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Mike
November 12th, 2011 at 12:46 am
Sounds like fun birds to watch... also, really like the colors in the first pic!