[wisb] Black-bellied Whistling Duck
- From: Peter Fissel <pfissel@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: Wisconsin Birding Network <wisbirdn@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Wed, 15 Aug 2012 21:07:41 -0500
A festive group of Madison-area birders was out at Shoveler's Sink this
evening, enjoying great views of the very cooperative Black-bellied Whistling
Duck. When I first arrived around 6:30, Mike McDowell and Ted Keyel were
watching it as it stood on the snag on the northeast side of the pond. The
lighting was great at that point, with almost full sun on it from the west and
a partial rainbow off to the east from the showers I'd driven through on the
way there. Mike did get a good look at both feet/legs, and both halluxes are
intact. (For those unfamiliar with that term, the hallux is the "dew claw"
equivalent on the back of the leg - escaped captive waterfowl would usually
have one hallux clipped off. It anatomically corresponds to the big toe on
humans.)
Eventually, the duck flew to the northwest part of the pond to feed, and later
moved even closer to the parking lot, just down the hill and not too far out
into the water. Most of the later-arriving birders had great looks at it,
although the light wasn't quite as good with clouds and showers moving around
the area. It was a state or life bird for many of the people there (not for
me, but it beat the heck out of the terrible look I had at the Spring Green
bird back in 2008.)
It was still there when I left around 7:30. Anyone planning to go look for it
in the morning should be aware that Beltline traffic will be heavy from before
7:00 a.m. until close to 9:00 a.m., and the Mineral Point/Junction Rd.
intersection will probably be pretty bad. An alternate way to get there would
be to take Old Sauk Rd. west from the Beltline all the way to where it "T"s
into Timber Lane and go left (south) to County S. You'll see the Sink on your
right. The parking lot is to the southwest of the pond. In the morning, it
might pay to pull over (shoulder is fairly wide, but drops off fast, so be
careful) and check the pond from the southeast corner. Showers and T-storms
are possible overnight and especially tomorrow morning in the Madison area.
Peter Fissel
Madison, Dane Co.
####################
You received this email because you are subscribed to the Wisconsin Birding
Network (Wisbirdn).
To UNSUBSCRIBE or SUBSCRIBE, use the Wisbirdn web interface at:
//www.freelists.org/list/wisbirdn
To set DIGEST or VACATION modes, use the Wisbirdn web interface at:
//www.freelists.org/list/wisbirdn
Visit Wisbirdn ARCHIVES at: //www.freelists.org/archives/wisbirdn
Other related posts:
