Blog Archives
Angry duck
This male Hardhead (on the right of the picture) looks like he has something to say. To his left, a Pacific Black Duck seems mildly surprised, or perhaps just living up to his scientific name, Anas superciliosa.
And perhaps the Hardhead thinks that his mate is paying too much attention to his supercilious rival!
This is the first time I’ve photographed a Hardhead. Evidently they’re the only Australian duck that can claim the name of true diving ducks, as they dive deep into the water to feed. The males have white eyes while the females have brown eyes.
Common names: Hardhead and Pacific Black Duck
Scientific names: Aythya australis and Anas superciliosa
Approximate length: 45-60 cm and 48-60 cm
Date spotted: 2 December 2024 (summer)
Location: Manly Dam National Reserve, near Sydney, Australia: 33°46’34.8″S 151°14’49.6″E
Pacific Black Duck with blue and green wing patches
The lighting this morning was perfect for catching the beauty of this Pacific Black Duck making her morning ablutions. I think this bird is a female, because the crown of the head and the feathers on the back are brown rather than black.
She spent many minutes preening, immersing herself in the water, then preening again.
It was fascinating to see how the colour of her wing patches changed, depending on the lighting and the angle. In the first photo above, the patch is green. Here it’s purple:
In this wing stretch, it’s as if she has different colours on each wing, one green and one blue:
Common name: Pacific Black Duck
Scientific name: Anas superciliosa
Approximate length: 45-60 cm
Date spotted: 25 December 2023 (summer)
Location: Manly Dam park, near Sydney: 33°46’35.0″S 151°14’50.2″E
Fluffy Australasian Grebe, not a duckling
Update on 19 April: The bird is actually an Australasian Grebe, not a duckling as I originally thought. Thanks to Pamela and Carol for helping to identify the bird (see comments on this post).
This tiny ball of fluff was zooming around an inlet of Manly Dam. I thought it was a Mallard duckling, because it seemed to spend most time close to an adult Mallard. Despite its size, the little thing was independent of spirit and a fast paddler.
Common name: Australasian Grebe
Scientific name: Tachybaptus novaehollandiae
Approximate length: 23-25 cm
Date spotted: 6 April 2020 (autumn)
Location: Manly Dam National Reserve, near Sydney: 33°46’34.8″S 151°14’49.6″E
This is the Mallard that the little one seemed to home in on:
Mallards are an introduced species in Australia. Their original home is the northern hemisphere, but they’re quite common in south eastern Australia now too.
Common name: Mallard
Scientific name: Anas Platyrhynchos
Approximate length: 50-70 cm
Date spotted: 6 April 2020 (autumn)
Location: Manly Dam National Reserve, near Sydney: 33°46’34.8″S 151°14’49.6″E
Paradise Shelduck at Manly Dam, Australia
If this is a Paradise Shelduck, it’s rather far from its usual home in New Zealand. I spotted it at Manly Dam, near Sydney in Australia.
It’s a big duck. At first I wasn’t sure whether it was a duck or a goose. This one is a female, as you can tell from its white head and neck. The male has a dark head.
She took to the water:
And showed a bit of ankle:
Common name: Paradise Shelduck
Scientific name: Tadorna variegata
Approximate length: 63-70 cm
Date spotted: 26 November 2016
Season: Spring
Location: Manly Dam Reserve, New South Wales, Australia
Latitude/longitude: 33°46’58.0″S 151°15’18.9″E
Sydney Birder 