Saturday, May 26, 2018

Pink-eared zebra duck..



At Lake Gwelup it wasn't just that it was the first time I've seen the pretty pink-eared ducks, sometimes called the zebra duck because of its brown barred flanks.. it was seeing pairs locked together head to tail spinning round and round. At first I thought it must be some dizzying mating ritual but it turns out it is the way they feed, filtering and scooping up the disturbed organisms in their huge square-tipped grey bills. Apart from the circles created in the water it's a little hard to imagine this feeding ritual, luckily P was with me and he put together this short, and I do mean short.. 5 seconds :) video here so you can see the motion..


Above you can see that there were more than one pair, I have heard that if there is a large flock of pink-eared ducks, rotating pairs often spread far across the surface of the wetlands. What a sight that must be.. might go back and try for that shot! Then whoosh they were off! Happy weekend, it's going to be a wet one here.. take care and stay safe... 


25 comments:

  1. Wow, thanks for the into and info!

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  2. What an interesting bird and it's quit pretty too! I loved the little video. Nature is such a fascinating thing! Glad you have some rain coming down!

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  3. What a strange but effective ritual, Grace! They have huge beaks!
    A friend is in Bunbury for a few weeks so I hope it isn't storming down there too much!

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  4. Great photos of these interesting ducks. Never heard of them before. Thanks for the education. Have a great weekend.

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  5. You have such amazing wildlife in Australia!

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  6. Wow they are beautiful, never heard of them before. Hope you have a fab weekend Diane

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  7. Wow! Incredible creatures. There’s nothing like them here! Thank you for sharing PDP.

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  8. They are super cute. I've never seen them before!

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  9. ...wow, the last one is great!

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  10. Beautiful photos. Aren't they so odd as the spin around.

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  11. Short video, but, yep, got it :-) Always the lille hints ;-)
    Cute birds, too, Grace, to a nice weekend!

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  12. Great shots -- and a good video illustration. I suspect we don't have these ducks in our hemisphere. They're fascinating.

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  13. So cute :) Lovely pics. Thanks for the info's.
    Happy Weekend.

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  14. Oh, these are fun and the lovedance is so cute!

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  15. The name says all. Lovely duck.

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  16. Lovely ducks, I don't think I'd ever seen them and I enjoyed the short video too. Thanks to P. Have a great weekend Grace.

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  17. yes I can see why they are called Zebra ducks - very unusual

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  18. Nice ducks. We do not have that kind in the USA.

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