{"id":1274,"date":"2013-04-24T15:54:21","date_gmt":"2013-04-24T19:54:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/naturalcrooks.com\/rambles\/?p=1274"},"modified":"2025-05-21T08:27:45","modified_gmt":"2025-05-21T12:27:45","slug":"ring-necked-ducks-oakville-on-walmart","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/naturalcrooks.com\/rambles\/ring-necked-ducks-oakville-on-walmart\/","title":{"rendered":"Expect the Unexpected: Ring Necked Ducks at Walmart"},"content":{"rendered":"

One thing this year has taught me is never overlook the obvious: even if it seems extremely unlikely that interesting birds or animals might be nearby, it\u2019s worth a look. Monday, what I thought was a Mallard was a Wood Duck<\/strong><\/a>. Yesterday, I had to visit that shopping heaven Walmart in search of a lime green volleyball. I could have bought a white, yellow, orange or turquoise volleyball at Canadian Tire, but unfortunately, only lime green would pass the requisite inspection. So out I was in Oakville near Dundas and 6th Line. There are two big storm water ponds nearby so I dug my Nikon camera out of the trunk and went for a walk around the lagoons. And found Ring-necked Ducks, ducks I\u2019ve wanted to see all spring!<\/p>\n

\"Photo<\/a><\/p>\n

When I first glanced from the pedestrian bridge between the two ponds at the further pond, I was surprised to see what looked like Scaup. The males had the very light side panel and the ducks were diving. I\u2019ve only seen Scaup on large bodies of water, like Lake Ontario, before so I looked more closely.<\/p>\n

Things didn\u2019t line up. The backs on the male ducks were black, not grey. The bills, though blue, seemed to have white on them. And the bills were the wrong shape. The females didn\u2019t have the white mark around the base of their bills either. I began taking photos and moving cautiously closer.<\/p>\n

\"Photo<\/a><\/p>\n

The best way, for me, to get closer to diving ducks is to move while they are underwater. With 2 pair of ducks, though, it seemed like one duck was almost always up keeping an eye on me.<\/p>\n

A Killdeer took offence at my infringing on its sun bathing, and started off across the pond shrieking. A pair of Canada Geese assumed that meant I was a menace and started honking up a storm. Three female Red-winged Blackbirds shot out of the rushes near my feet. Then their suitors stormed out after them. A stealth commando I\u2019m not!<\/p>\n

\"Photo<\/a><\/p>\n

The ducks took some note of this mass exodus and drifted slightly further out from shore. Luckily for me, a man was walking his off leash dog on the other shore, so the ducks decided I was the lesser threat and didn\u2019t disappear completely from range.<\/p>\n

I gave up, sat down on a convenient toppled tree trunk and dug out my Peterson\u2019s field guide.<\/p>\n

Ring-necked Ducks. Cool! I\u2019d only seen one report for them anywhere near me, in Erindale Park in Mississauga, this spring. I never expected to get to see 2 pair up close and personal. And it was all thanks to a lime green volleyball.<\/p>\n

Related Reading<\/strong><\/p>\n