Wordless Wednesday: Ducks Not in a Row

 

Ducks Can Brighten Up a Rainy Day in Okinawa

 

Out for a quick four-hour walk in the wind and rain, this was one image I decided to save.

Normally, the dog and I would be out for five hours or longer in better weather.

Lots of time was spent getting shelter from the cold drizzle, beneath a highway overpass.

The ducks (Northern Shovelers) hangout in wetlands, sucking what they eat from the water.

Sometimes a flooded field and other times, this canal they're seen taking flight from.

They migrate here for the winter months and I photograph them almost daily.

It's lots more fun, taking long walks on sunny days with blue skies.

But, any time spent outdoors beats sitting around stuck indoors, on a day in December.

What do you do for excitement on foul-weather days?

MORE ABOUT NORTHERN SHOVELERS

Just Ducky: Couple of Eurasian Wigeon's

First Time I've Seen These in Kin Town

Yesterday, I ran across a few dozen of them. They got spooked and flew away.

In-flight, it seemed like they may have been some sort of geese.

My internet searches turned up nothing helpful so, I started asking friends.

There's even a helpful group in Holland (on Facebook) I sent photos to for ID.

Out in the wetlands again today, I shot a few hundred more photos.

My contacts came through and, I did some more internet searching. Here's what we've got:

Latin Name: Mareca penelope

Common Name: Eurasian Wigeon

Japanese: ユーラシアヒヒ (Yūrashiahihi)

The photo was taken this morning around 9 AM.  It was a long, exhausting day.

For now let's just say, "The bird with the redhead is the guy."

Learn more about these birds at All About Birds.

Wildlife: Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha)

Karugamo (カルガモ) in Japan

Also known as the Chinese Spot-billed duck, the birds used to be classified Indian Spot-bills.

Since 2008 the Eastern Spot-billed Duck has been recognized as a separate species.

These photos were taken while walking the length of the Okukubi River in Kin Town.

It was early afternoon on a bright, sunny day and, I was hoping to catch some osprey.

No Sea Hawks dove for fish but, these ducks provided some entertainment.

The birds may be found in freshwater ponds or lakes and brackish waters as well.

The Okukubi River flows from Kin Dam to the ocean at Nature Mirai.

It would be considered brackish; a combination of fresh and seawater.

The ducks, when frightened, may just seek cover in the mangrove forest.

They are used to tourists kayaking the river and often hide, rather than fly.

The best time to walk the length of this river is at, what I call half tide.

That would be about three hours before the full tide.

During low tide, not much activity takes place along the river.

It's so shallow, a person could walk across the waterway and, never get their wallet wet!

Unfortunately, no in-flight photos were made yesterday, the ducks wouldn't cooperate.

But, I have a few images from 2016 if, you're interested.

More About These Birds in Resources:

Handbook of Birds of the World

Wikipedia

Wildlife Okinawa

What Bird

Muscovy Ducks GIF

The same pair, I believe, we saw last year at a dam in Yomitan.

More about these birds may be seen here.

Tomorrow: The First Ever World Wildlife Day

Somebody Should Have Thought of This Years Ago

 

 

This guy, speaks much more eloquently than I so, I got you this video to watch.

 He doesn't  cuss and, you can switch YouTube to the language of your choice.

If I get lucky, maybe, one of my Japanese friends could do me a favor.

Let the mayor of Tomigusuku know about this world wildlife thingy.

And, he might do something about those ducks, stuck in the muck !

You never know.

Travelers and tourists might start showing up and boost Okinawa's travel and tourism industry.

That would be alright, I guess.



Related Post: Who Fouled Up Tomigusuku Wetlands ?

The Critters of UNESCO World Heritage Shuri Castle Pond

This Part of the Castle is Free

 

Today, the mission was supposed to be take pictures of a building on the pond.

The wildlife lens got left behind because, no critters were going to be shot.

Walking to the site Doc Graff and I  spotted these animals.

And he knows what that means.  Castle buildings can wait.

Because, I can be like a little kid in a candy store when there are critters around.

This turtle looked like he was trying to hitch a ride. That's what I'd tell the kids, anyway.

Moving around the pond, we saw all kinds and colors of fish.

The big ones are carp.  The little guys and turtles seemed to get along fine with them.

Nobody would pose so, plenty of digital film was used to capture these shots.

Who cares about UNESCO stuff, when these beauties are putting on a show ?

Not me.

The golden one was my favorite.

When I realized, about an hour later, we had to get moving, we ran across these ducks.

Some gals were feeding them.

Look at those little rascals.  

Click, Click, Click.  There was no sense passing this opportunity up.

Waiting for one to separate from the herd was the hardest part.

Just in case the boss thinks I wasn't at the Shuri Castle Pond, I took this photo.

Now I know, it can be called Ryutan Pond or, Iyugumui and, they made it in 1427.

Another thing.  I took five or six photos of the building, I was supposed to shoot.

  Got over 300 pictures of critters, though.

If you visit Shuri Castle you shouldn't miss this pond.

Everything there was FREE !

Wildlife Photos: Teal (Anas crecca) in Okinawa

These little ducks had me stumped, for awhile, today.

They were spotted in Tomigusuku, the southern part of Okinawa, Japan.

We don't see many red-headed ducks around here.

That led me to spend a few hours trying to identify the birds.

The duck with the red head and green mask is the male. 

They get those bright colors during mating season. 

The plain Jane-looking bird is the female.

Learn more about these teals at ARKive. 

Visit my homepage for today's Feature Photo 

Wildlife Photo and a Question

Is it just my imagination; is that a goose flying with seven ducks ?

Visit my homepage for today's Feature Photo