[wisb] Re: Black-bellied Whistling Duck
- From: Jesse Ellis <calocitta8@xxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Wed, 15 Aug 2012 21:16:09 -0500
Another thought on viewing. There IS a parking lot on the east side, off
Timber, but this area would have extremely restricted viewing of much of
the pond unless you walked down to the shore, potentially scaring both the
duck and whatever else is in the pond. I would ignore this parking area. If
the duck IS on the west side of the pond when you arrive and is hidden, it
should work its way out - there really isn't much to hide behind on the
west side of the pond. You can see almost all of the pond from the south
parking area.
Good birding!
Jesse
On Wed, Aug 15, 2012 at 9:07 PM, Peter Fissel <pfissel@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>wrote:
> 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.
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>
>
--
Jesse Ellis
Post-doctoral Researcher
Dept. of Zoology
University of Wisconsin - Madison
Madison, Dane Co, WI
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