We drove the circuit in Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge | U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service in February. There were thousands of Green-winged Teal and Snow Geese. The Hooded Mergansers looked startled by the Brant taking off.
E B Forsythe NWR Winter Ducks
Great sighting and capture!
Thanks. I see you are a birdeer. Nice to meet you.
Jealous of that Brandt, that would be a lifer for me. Enjoyed all the feathers!
The first photo, the northern pintail is my favorite.
Thank you very much.
I like the reflections, and the skidding brant suggests the origin of the game ducks and drakes
It has been eons since I heard the of the game ducks and drakes for skipping stones on the water. Thanks for the lovely comment Derrick.
These duck photos are great, Sherry. You really captured some unique poses. I’ve seen a lot of pintails, but never dipping into the water with this posture. My favorite photo is the first one, with the pintail stretched out so long. And I l.o.v.e. seeing mergansers and you have two different species here! Great day but I’m guessing very chilly. I have been to EBF and it’s wonderful.
That was my first time seeing pintails skimming the mud. Thanks Jet.
It’s amazing how similar your winter’s ducks are to ours. Except for the Hooded Merganser and the Brant I can go out to a pond here and see the rest now.
These animals with wings sure do get around 🙂
I especially enjoyed that last photo of the Green-winged Teal. I don’t often see the birds, and I don’t remember ever seeing that green patch on the wing.
Thanks. Here’s some more information: The teal in named after the green speculum.
“The word “teal” comes from the Old French “tele” meaning male duck or drake. This Old French word likely originated from the Latin “talus” meaning slope or inclination. The connection between “talus” and ducks relates to the sloped appearance of a duck’s body when floating in water.
Over time, “tele” specifically came to refer to a type of small wild duck or male mallard duck in French. When English speakers borrowed the word, it retained this meaning of a small duck species and became “teal” in English. The first known usage in English appears to be around 1678 in a book called Ornithology by Francis Willughby, referring to the common teal duck.”