Black-bellied Whistling Duck

 

June 16th

          This morning Mike and I walked with a mentor for the Volunteer Trail Patrol program and got certified to patrol at Wildwood Metropark.  It was another hot and sticky day, but we finished by 10:00am so it wasn’t too bad.  We had the rest of the day free, so we decided to chase a Black-bellied Whistling Duck that has been hanging around a fish hatchery east of Columbus for about a week.

          We got on the road about 10:30 and stopped at a Panera in Marion for lunch and arrived at the Hebron Fish Hatchery about 2:00pm.  We knew that the whistling duck has been fraternizing with some Mallards.  On the edge of one of the hatchery ponds, we saw a group of Mallards and went to check it out.  Sure enough, sitting on the shore with the Mallards was the Black-bellied Whistling Duck.  This bird was way out of its range.  It is normally found year-around in Florida and Texas and is very rare in Ohio. 

          The Black-bellied Whistling Duck has a brilliant pink bill and long legs.  Its body is mostly chestnut, with a black belly and a gray face.  It is noisy and really does have a whistle for its call.  It is common is several southern states and is expanding northward.  

(1 new species, total 274)

Black-bellied Whistling Duck (very rare)

                                           Black-bellied Whistling Duck

 

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