The Howland
Fulvous Whistling-Duck Page The Howland
Fulvous Whistling-Duck PagePage by Royce
Last update: $Date: 2003/12/21 16:44:06 $ (UTC)
The Fulvous Whistling-Duck (Dendrocygna bicolor) is an unusual duck that we wouldn't expect to see in Alberta, outside of captivity. This duck is known to "wander widely", so that is a possible explanation for how it showed up here in Calgary, far from its normal range along the southern coastal areas of the United States. Another possibility is that it escaped from local captivity. A number escaped from the Calgary Zoo around the time of this sighting, but their wings were all clipped and therefore this individual wasn't from that group.
The duck shown on this page was first seen in Calgary on Sunday May 25, 2003 by Chris and Ken Havard, and triggered a bunch of folks (us included) to make the trek to a specific bit of slough in the north-east of town. The first time we went up, we had no luck. The second time I was on my own, and struck pay dirt. A couple of other local birders got a good look as well.
Side note: According to Merriam-Webster online, fulvous means "of a dull brownish yellow." Perhaps that describes the coloration of this duck at some time of year, but not the male during spring. "Dull" is not the word I would use this fiery-looking bird.
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I saw two ducks come sailing in...
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On this cloudy, blustery Saturday (May 31, around 10:00), the scene shown in this shot was my first good look at the Fulvous Whistling-Duck, as it paddled out from behind a bunch of reeds with a Mallard. Conditions were not ideal due to cloud cover, unrelenting wind (motion is the enemy when taking photos at high magnification), and a viewing distance of perhaps 80 meters from the side of the road where I was. However, I did manage to get a few photos that were "okay" by using using my car as a combination blind and wind-break, and shooting using my digiscoping setup. Hence, the existence of this page. The quality of this early shot is poor since I was fumbling with the tripod head, scope focus and camera remote release all at the same time. However I found it interesting how the Whistling-Duck seemed to want to hang around other waterfowl most of the time, so I'm including the image despite the low quality. An early report we saw of the Fulvous Whistling-Duck on the Albertabird mailing list indicated that it was "rather attached" to a female Mallard. Photo info:
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"Stop me if you've heard this one.
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Here, the Fulvous Whistling-Duck is chatting with a Gadwall. The Thayer birding software entry describes the Whistling-Duck as "highly social", which was clearly borne out as I watched today. Photo info:
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Two water birds that would look at
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Here we have the Fulvous Whistling-Duck chilling out with a Cinnamon Teal. During my time watching today, the Whistling-Duck seemed friendly with just about everybody in the slough, even a Yellow-headed Blackbird. Photo info:
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"If you don't want to be pals with me,
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The distance was perhaps 80 meters from where I was standing on the side of the road, with cars going by and the wind whipping around. Therefore I couldn't really hear the Whistling-Duck. But from the photographic evidence, it was somewhat vocal. Photo info:
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"Be sure to get my good side..."
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Here the Whistling-Duck posed nicely for the best shot I was able to get this day. Photo info:
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"Time to take my whistle and go
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The Whistling-Duck is getting ready to go for a bit of a mosey, after its various wetland pals took off. Photo info:
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Looking to the horizon... or at least
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Pretty much my last view of the Fulvous Whistling-Duck, as it headed back into the reeds. Photo info:
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Please don't steal anything for your own purposes, in particular if you have a plan for making fabulous stacks of cash in so doing. If you would like to use a photo or other content you find here, or just want to contact us about something, please send email to royce@3ge.com.
