Changing Directions

by AnnaJo Vahle

Title

Changing Directions

Artist

AnnaJo Vahle

Medium

Photograph - Photography

Description

I found these in the Merritt Island Wildlife Refuge, which is located in Central Florida near the Kennedy Space Center. After a while, The male duck, who is flapping his wings, looks as if he is trying to lead the parade in a different direction. These are a fairly common duck. They are usually in small groups. They are found in a variety of freshwater wetlands. Ring-necked ducks are small to medium-sized diving ducks with the following length, weight, and wingspan measurements.

The male Ring-necked Duck is a sharply marked bird of gleaming black, gray, and white. Females are rich brown with a delicate face pattern. At distance, look for this species’ distinctive, peaked head to help you identify it. Even though this species dives for its food, you can find it in shallow wetlands such as beaver swamps, ponds, and bays. Of all the diving duck species, the Ring-necked Duck is most likely to drop into small ponds during migration.

This bird’s common name (and its scientific name "collaris," too) refer to the Ring-necked Duck's hard-to-see chestnut collar on its black neck. It’s not a good field mark to use for identifying the bird, but it jumped out to the nineteenth century biologists that described the species using dead specimens.
The oldest known Ring-necked Duck was a male, and at least 20 years, 5 months old. He was banded in 1964 in Louisiana and was shot in 1983, in Minnesota.

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October 11th, 2020

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