July 13, 2016. Bayfront Park, Hamilton ON. July could always do with a bit of avian excitement and providence provided some today in the form of a small group of Black-bellied Whistling Ducks. Perhaps I too often make the point that I’m not much for moving very fast to chase unusual species’ sightings, well the truth of it is that sometimes the pull is irresistible.
Early this hot afternoon I happened to click on the link to our local birding list-serve to read that Black-bellied Whistling Ducks had been found not too far from home. Black-bellied Whistling Ducks, now that’s a bit of a sensation and turns out to be a first for our study area. Black-bellied Whistling Ducks breed in Louisiana and southern Texas and winter in coastal Mexico; yet here they are in southern Ontario, most strange! Apparently hunters leave them alone, they’re not good eating, and as a consequence their population is growing, perhaps we’ll see more of them in future years.
I was maybe half way to the reported site when it occurred to me that I hadn’t checked the time and date of the report, maybe it was yesterday’s news and stale-dated already, maybe I’d get there only to plod around in the scorching July sun for no reward. As it turned out it was a very fresh report and quite a group of birders had gathered to enjoy an intimate moment with the birds that were loafing just offshore from a sandy beach in a well-used park.
A somewhat opinionated local joined the throng to see what the excitement was all about and shared the slightly disturbing, if intriguing, view that they’d been around the area for two weeks. The very fact of the whistling ducks’ presence and this nugget of local information reminded us that birds, common and rare, are all around; what it takes is someone who knows what he or she is looking at to add to the body of knowledge.
As an aside I have to commend the good folks at Nikon Canada for effecting what looked like an enormously expensive repair to my camera for around $150. Today was my second opportunity to put the camera through its paces again. I’ve added a couple of shots of the Black-bellied Whistling Ducks; almost sophisticated looking birds I think you might agree.