Duck, duck....(no goose) - Skywatch Friday

Black bellied whistling ducks flying by.

Black bellied whistling duck staring at me. What is it about these ducks that are so cute?

The marsh fields were full of black bellies right before sunset. They all had their heads stuck deep in the muck feeding when a hawk came flying overhead screaming. All of their heads shot up and searched the sky. They seemed very concerned.  After a few minutes they went back to eating. I shot this far away across  the field. They were all standing at attention.

Ring necked duck. I don't see these very often.

Blue winged teal with a little green showing.

Blue winged teal staring at me.

Lots of ducks at Circle B Bar Reserve right now. They are reporting record numbers of black bellied whistling ducks. The marsh fields were full of them on my late afternoon trip recently. There's such a huge variety of ducks there. The ponds are also full of coots. Soon most of these ducks will be migrating back home to the north. 

For more skyscape photography from around the world, visit http://skyley.blogspot.com/

Roosevelt Wetlands

Beautiful glossy ibis. We don't see these very often in Pinellas county. This one looks like it's in full breeding colors.

Blue winged teal duck. We don't see these very often as well. I love the spots on his wing and the bold white stripe on his face.


Red winged blackbird making a lot of noise.

A belted kingfisher from very far away. These birds are very skittish. This picture was extremely cropped. This was the first time I had seen a kingfisher at this park.

The usual alligator.

The usual alligator snack food. Rabbits are showing up everywhere.

I made a quick stop at Roosevelt Wetlands after work one day last week. I needed to get out and walk around after sitting at my desk all day. This place is really a preserve instead of a park. There are no restrooms, playgrounds or real parking. There are houses sitting around half of the lake. You can usually find some different birds there. There were a lot of ducks hanging around the lake. I got my first decent picture of a blue winged teal above. There were several of them there and they stayed close together out in the middle of the lake. I plan to make a lot of stops at the wetlands now that it's still light after work and it's close by.