Hollerites~

On By cindy knokeIn Birds, Conservation, HOLLER HAPPENINGS, MY PHOTOGRAPHS, REVERIES, Wild Life

We’ve gotten lots of rain and more is coming this weekend! The lakes and creeks are filling up, making the critters (and me) happy.

I am going to be disappointed in myself if I get these identifications wrong,

but I think this handsome guy is a Ring Necked Duck.

Duck identification is difficult. (You can actually see the ring around his neck in this photo which is unusual).

We have thirty or so duck species in California, and that doesn’t include all the ones that aren’t supposed to be here! (Birds don’t read the manuals).

I think this similar,

but the not the same beauty,

is a lesser scaup male,

and here is the female.

Here they are together. Of course, I could be wrong. But irregardless of ID, a duck by any other name would quack the same!

Cheers to you from The Happy Holler Quackers~

211 thoughts on “Hollerites~”

  4. They are all beautiful birds, Cindy. I love the ripples over the pebbles in the water, too. That one photo of the lesser scaup female looks like a giant duck in a tiny watery amphitheater.

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    1. Thank you Eliza. Yes, we are going. They are anticipating an earlier bloom, so timing needs to be carefully planned. We want to combine it with seeing the birds before they leave in The Salton Sea. So looking forward….. I notice wildflowers now, everywhere, which is unusual. We even had a tall waterfall! დ

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  14. Those are FABULOUS photos, Cindy! And I love that you actually got the ring in one of the photos of the Ring-necked!!! Scaups are so hard to tell apart, but I think you’re right about it being the Lesser since they have the pointy heads in profile. 🤎🤎 them!

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    1. I knew my sharp blogger friends would know if I made an error so I could correct it. Thank you Teresa. Bird id’ing can be very tricky. but it’s a lot of fun. I დ my friends who დ birds დ

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  17. Beautiful captures
    I shall kiss and pat (in the water, how fun and boingy would that be?) all 30 or so species!! The males’ color variations are gorgeous! I did not know these beauties resided there, nor that they existed.

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    1. It is so wonderful to see the land and animals respond. We got 5 1/2 inches of rain in just one storm which is very rare, and there have been many storms, and more coming. დ

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  20. Haha, that’s a classic Cindy, they do indeed quack the same…well…almost. Great pictures and I love that whispy white blending into the black on their backs. Top share my friend, may they help us out and maybe wear tags for a while 🤣❤️🙏🏽

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  27. If one of us were to one day grow wings, surely it would be you. Lovely ducks, no doubt. Me, I love seagulls and pelicans (well OK, hummingbirds too). But new contender is the SHOEBILL Stork (tho San Diego Zoo says, no, not stork, but rather its own self). A visual marvel that most looks like it can’t be real, but is. African mostly, and near extinct (shame on us humans).

    Yes, nice ducks, but that first image of hills and lake… well stirs up California homesick for me. That just felt good in my bones. Big thank you for that.

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    1. I get you Neil. I saw the storks in Africa. They were so amazing. You also know Cali, like I do. She just got tons of rain and snow. The Sierras which get the most snow in the lower 48, are overwhelmed. And another storm is comming. It should be here by morning. I couldn’t possibly be happier დ

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    1. This is the WP Magic disappearing comment function. Like the WP Magic disappearing followers function. And the WP disappearing stats function. And the WP blogs I follow function disappearing from my WP Reader. But thankfully, the payment I give each year to WP for my custom theme, never unintentionally disappears.

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    1. Well thank you for noticing. Black birds are never only black. In bright sunlight you can see all the colors, some have blue tint, others purple, and others green. They have hidden color დ

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    1. I just started following your new blog. It’s wonderful! Love the app. Cornell is my go to bird identifying resource. I am a member of their ‘All About Birds’. Love what they do and you too! Thank you დ

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        1. Yes!!! Every time I travel to a rainy or snowy place, I think, why can’t I bring this home? I love California. I hate to see her suffer. Wonderful to know you feel the same. დ

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    1. Don’t say they will never come to The UK out loud. They might hear you and fly over. Birds do such and they seem to like The UK, smart birdies. You know about your parakeets, and I saw Egyptian Geese in St. James Park, Mandarin Ducks in Oxforshire, and I read about that Bald Eagle who flew over from North America. You kindly flew him back on British Air. I would guess in First Class 😉 😉

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  40. Anonymous

    Marvellous portraits. Father Christmas gave me a mug printed with images of birds found in and around the New Forest. It has already proved useful for identification

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  42. Pingback: Hollerites~ — – Echoes in the Mist

  43. Dear Cindy
    Fancy dugs, indeed! Great pictures.
    We never know the ID of birds which we don’t see regularly. But we are surrounded by birdwise people who know.
    Keep well
    The Fab Four of Cley
    🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

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  50. Duck identification is incredibly hard! I worked at a park that specialized in birding, particularly waterfowl, and I always found it difficult to tell some species of ducks apart.

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  62. Those colors and details are beautiful Cindy. I miss having a real camera and zoom to be able to see and photograph close ups and details like in your photos, I’m glad you and the critters are happy with the rain. Cheers!

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  80. I’ve never seen these types of ducks before. Does the ring neck duck really have a blue section on his beak? The pattern of white and black or brown on the lesser scaup ducks is beautiful.

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  88. I really enjoy these beautiful photos, also the ones of finches. These birds may be Californian, but they remind me a lot of my parent’s place in Germany. Great shots!

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