On our last full day in Austin, my wife and I took a hike along the Slaughter Creek Trail, in the southwest Metro Area. Once again, we were at the edge of the Hill Country, hiking through semiarid grasslands and counting on groves of oak and juniper to provide some protection from the bright March sun.
After almost 90 minutes of enduring heat and dryness, we came to a secluded pond, where a quartet of ring-necked ducks dove for their lunch; to our pleasant surprise, there was also a trio of black-bellied whistling ducks, lounging along the shore. Permanent residents of Mexico, southern Arizona, South Texas and South Florida, these colorful birds also nest throughout Eastern Texas and may wander farther north during the summer months.
Lanky, slender ducks, they are easily identified by their black belly, white wing-patches and bright pink-orange bill. They nest primarily in tree cavities near water and feed on both aquatic and terrestrial insects and plants. While I have encountered them in Florida over the years, I had not seen black-bellied whistling ducks in several years and was especially surprised to find them in the semiarid landscape west of Austin.
After almost 90 minutes of enduring heat and dryness, we came to a secluded pond, where a quartet of ring-necked ducks dove for their lunch; to our pleasant surprise, there was also a trio of black-bellied whistling ducks, lounging along the shore. Permanent residents of Mexico, southern Arizona, South Texas and South Florida, these colorful birds also nest throughout Eastern Texas and may wander farther north during the summer months.
Lanky, slender ducks, they are easily identified by their black belly, white wing-patches and bright pink-orange bill. They nest primarily in tree cavities near water and feed on both aquatic and terrestrial insects and plants. While I have encountered them in Florida over the years, I had not seen black-bellied whistling ducks in several years and was especially surprised to find them in the semiarid landscape west of Austin.
