Need your help with a question

[Kenn Kaufman]

Hello OYBC people,
In about three weeks I have to do a workshop on field identification of ducks. Part of this will be just talking about the ones that are hard to identify, like telling Greater Scaup and Lesser Scaup apart. But to make it more pleasant for people, I want to start and end the program with pictures of nice-looking birds. So I'd like to know -- which ducks are your favorites? Which ones do you think people would just enjoy looking at? I would appreciate your advice!

[Sarah Winnicki]

Harlequin, Canvasback and Goldeneye are all really pretty when they are in plumage.
And you don't see them everyday.

[Kathy McDonald]

How about Northern Pintail?

[Brian Wulker]

Common Merganser is one of my favorites.

[Lukas Padegimas]

Green Winged Teals, Pintails, and Harlequins are some of my favorites to look at.

[John Sawvel]

It's tough to pick a favorite duck. The Wood Duck looks too extravagant to exist around here in good numbers. Greg Links posted a year or two ago that he thought ducks were nicer to look at than warblers. That's saying something. If we could get as close to ducks as we do with the warblers on the Magee Marsh boardwalk, then I might agree with Greg.

I'd say the duck I've enjoyed watching the most over the years is the Northern Shoveler. It's fairly common. We saw a few dozen males at Castalia Pond early last month. It's colorful. I like its unique bill shape. And since it's a dabbler, we get to watch it longer as it plows just below the surface. Actually, I saw a pair of shovelers dive once along the Magee Marsh causeway. They were alluding a Peregrine Falcon. They hit the water in flight and went under out of sight, and the falcon swooped on.

My big problem with ducks is identifying them in flight. I've got that little $2 pocket book titled "Ducks at a Distance," but I guess I'm not studying it enough.

[Sarah Winnicki]

I agree with Greg too! Although, I like ducks because most of the time they're easier to spot than warblers.

John Sawvel said:

It's tough to pick a favorite duck. The Wood Duck looks too extravagant to exist around here in good numbers. Greg Links posted a year or two ago that he thought ducks were nicer to look at than warblers. That's saying something. If we could get as close to ducks as we do with the warblers on the Magee Marsh boardwalk, then I might agree with Greg.

I'd say the duck I've enjoyed watching the most over the years is the Northern Shoveler. It's fairly common. We saw a few dozen males at Castalia Pond early last month. It's colorful. I like its unique bill shape. And since it's a dabbler, we get to watch it longer as it plows just below the surface. Actually, I saw a pair of shovelers dive once along the Magee Marsh causeway. They were alluding a Peregrine Falcon. They hit the water in flight and went under out of sight, and the falcon swooped on.

My big problem with ducks is identifying them in flight. I've got that little $2 pocket book titled "Ducks at a Distance," but I guess I'm not studying it enough.

[Kenn Kaufman]

Thanks very much for the great suggestions and ideas! These are some good species to focus on at the beginning and end of the program, so people won't come away discouraged by the ducks that are plainer-looking or hard to identify. Plus, these will probably take in the favorites of many of the people coming to the workshop, and it's always nice to see photos of your favorites.

Neat to see that a good mix of diving and dabbling species were mentioned. (Although as John points out, even the dabblers will dive if they're scared enough.)

[Cameron Cox]

Hi all,

New to the OYBC forum. Nikon is going to be one of the sponsors of OYBC and hopefully I'll get to meet some of you.

Waterfowl are kind of like warblers; the one you are looking at is always the most attractive. I'm a huge Hooded Merg fan and both Blue-winged and Cinnamon Teal are stunning. Also, though they are often not give their due, Mallard and Gadwall are both smoking if you look closely at them

A quick note on identifying waterfowl in flight. Most groups of ducks have basic flock structures that are unique to a particular species or group. For example Green-winged Teal tend to move in small, tightly packed, agile flocks that often recall a flock of sandpipers. Looking for these types of clues to identification can be as useful to identifying waterfowl in flight as basic field marks.

If you like, check out our blog. It has some tips on identifying scoters in flight in the archives plus some Mallard photos and other fun stuff.

http://birdingtotheedg.blogspot.com/

Cameron Cox
Nikon Sport Optics

[Phil Chaon]

I'm a really big fan of Bufflehead, probably my favorite duck in Ohio. King Eider and Black Scoter are high up there too. If we go international, Torrent Duck might be the best duck in the world.

[Sarah Winnicki]

Okay, now that I have seen Long-Tailed Ducks I have to say they are pretty too.