On the Wing #44: Sunshine State
A lovely time was had in Florida by myself and my friends, but this being a birding blog, I'm going to post the pictures I'm most excited about and I hope you enjoy them too. Poking it's head out of the bush, this Northern Mockingbird ( Mimus polyglottos ) peers around the neighborhood. It didn't seem particularly bothered by my presence, but it did keep an eye on me. The hybrids keep showing up. Mallard x American Black Ducks ( Anas platyrhynchos x rubripes ) are fairly uncommon in the Northeast, but it feels like the Mottled Ducks ( A. fulvigula ) down here have the same problem. It would be interesting to get the stats on the threat to the breeding population from errant Mallard breeding fiascoes. It always seems to be males that are present. Very rarely, if ever have I seen female hybrids. The characteristics of the male Mallard and female Mottled are well noticeable here. A lonely decoy keeps watch over the chaos taking place within the Mottled Duck ge...