Monday, January 18, 2010

Tame stranger ducks into wetlands


Not so wild stranger ducked into Tyto today. Tucked away sunning itself in grasses beside reedy section of main lagoon was this hefty presumed Mallard descendant.

Almost tamely allowed close approach for above full frame shot, then paddled off with a few defiantly loud quacks. Probably be long gone tomorrow. 


Seems the season for farmyard escapers. Came upon four attractive white Muscovy types wandering along a road in a light industrial estate the other evening. Happily, the Muscovy pair earlier reported setting up to breed near the info centre moved on.

Also moved on, after latest rains, Purple Swamphens (Porphyrio porphyrio). Finches and mannikins pleased to see them go as they were all competing for the seeds of the grasses surrounding the above pair.
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3 comments:

  1. Denis WilsonJanuary 19, 2010 at 11:33 PM

    Hi Tony
    Let's hope your Crocodile knocks off the Mallard/Domestic duck cross.
    I can barely imaging finches competing with the Swamphens.
    Denis

    ReplyDelete
  2. RaeJanuary 20, 2010 at 10:06 PM

    Hi Tony
    There's one mallard left. I presumed the other was someone's christmas dinner

    ReplyDelete
  3. Tyto TonyJanuary 21, 2010 at 2:03 PM

    Hi Denis: What puzzled me was the effort for the swamphens for such small reward.

    Hi Rae: The Great Escape? Could be. As predicted, bird didn't stick around.

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