Question on Ibus birds

[thekarens]

If you like Woodstorks you would really like the Jacksonville Zoo. Several years ago a couple of wild woodstorks nested in a huge tree in the middle of the zoo grounds. These are not captive birds, they just happened to figure out they were safe there having their nest. Around 2000 the number of woodstorks nesting in this one tree grew to about a hundred almost to the point of killing the tree. There is an elevated walkway around the tree that allows you to come within 6' of some of the birds on their nests. They don't seem to be too concerned about people, knowing they are safe from harm. The spectacle of several hundred storks all with nests in the same tree is a photographer's dream. Nesting is in late April and early May. I will try to get over there for pics this Spring when it happens again. The chicks are so cute all fuzzy with long beaks.

That would be awesome!

 

[kalypso123]

I live across from a retention pond and when its full we will have lots of those white Ibis's, mallord ducks, and Im not sure what kind of bird it is but it is larger than the white ibis and the same color. I love great blue herons. I live in a small comunity outside of Tallahassee Fl so it is a 15 min drive to St. Marks so I see them often.

 

[RavensGryf]

It was a while ago, so I don't remember all the details but I sure wished I had a camera that day... One of the local libraries is located on the grounds of a park. Heritage park has a large man made pond. After a trip to the library I decided to go and see the duck pond. I guess it was the RIGHT time of year (migrating) because I couldn't believe my eyes!! No exaggeration, I counted all the different duck species and it was in the teens... something like 15 or 17 DIFFERENT SPECIES all gathered around the pond including exotic looking colorful ones that looked like Mandarins! Was I seeing straight? How far do species migrate? :52: the pond was quite crowded that day ! It was exciting to see that.

I remember there was one single guy who really stood out as he walked around alone. He was much bigger than anyone else.. It could have been a goose now that I think about it, but I don't recall a long neck of a goose. Maybe it did. Black or gray with a red knobby face.. but quite endearing really . Anyway he might have been a year round resident because he was pretty tame. I actually came very close to petting him. Edit: just looked up pics, might have been a Muscovy duck.

Over the years I stopped by several more times, but it was never exactly the right time of year apparently, because after that I never saw anything out of the ordinary. Just the usual Mallards and maybe white ones.

 

[thekarens]

It was a while ago, so I don't remember all the details but I sure wished I had a camera that day... One of the local libraries is located on the grounds of a park. Heritage park has a large man made pond. After a trip to the library I decided to go and see the duck pond. I guess it was the RIGHT time of year (migrating) because I couldn't believe my eyes!! No exaggeration, I counted all the different duck species and it was in the teens... something like 15 or 17 DIFFERENT SPECIES all gathered around the pond including exotic looking colorful ones that looked like Mandarins! Was I seeing straight? How far do species migrate? :52: the pond was quite crowded that day ! It was exciting to see that.

I remember there was one single guy who really stood out as he walked around alone. He was much bigger than anyone else.. It could have been a goose now that I think about it, but I don't recall a long neck of a goose. Maybe it did. Black or gray with a red knobby face.. but quite endearing really . Anyway he might have been a year round resident because he was pretty tame. I actually came very close to petting him.

Over the years I stopped by several more times, but it was never exactly the right time of year apparently, because after that I never saw anything out of the ordinary. Just the usual Mallards and maybe white ones.

It's not unusual for domestic and exotics to get mixed in with the wild ducks, since you'd never see a wild mandarin here.

Look up muscovy duck. That might have been your knobby faced duck.

 

[RavensGryf]

Karen I emailed you before I saw your post. It WAS a Muscovy

 

[kalypso123]

Muscovy ducks are not very welcomed in Tallahassee. They are not native here I guess because they push out the native ducks. At Lake Ella all the ducks are Muscovy with two pairs of Mallords and two white ducks. There is also many Canadian Geese. The geese can be very aggressive and so are the Muscovy. A man was eating on a picnic table and the Muscovy attacked the poor man for his food. He bit him several times. Lake Ella also has outdorr bathrooms so when I was using the restroom I had the unpleasent suprise of a duck chasing me from under the sink.

 

[thekarens]

White ducks are also not native to the US.