Tuesday, June 18, 2019

Whistling Down To Wheatley

This afternoon while leaving work, I received an alert that nine Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks were at Muddy Creek near Wheatley Harbour.  Just my luck, things were busy at work and I went a bit overtime.  After a quick supper at home, I motored on down to Wheatley in record time.
Luckily, the nine ducks were still sleeping in a dead ash tree when I arrived!



Several familiar birders were there taking in the spectacle.  No doubt the ducks were resting after a long journey.



This spring, there has been a surge of this species to the north.  In late April, two were seen near Port Crewe in Chatham-Kent.  Unfortunately, the circumstances of the day prevented me from seeing those co-operative creatures.
Just last Thursday, two were near Petrolia in Lambton County on private property.  A few lucky Lambton birders who were in the right place at the right time got to see them.  I made an attempt, but could not see them and was not willing to knock on some doors at the time.

I had never caught up with this unique duck in Ontario before.  There have not been all that many records until recent years.

We have been talking about this species the last few days and speculating that some more would show up soon.  Indeed they did!



1 comment:

  1. Great Sighting Blake !
    Glad the birds waited for you !

    ReplyDelete