Winter Ducks Returning

My travels around the lakes is finally paying off as the first of the Wintering waterfowl begin to make it back to Orlando. American Coots are the easiest to spot at a distance as their white bills seem to shine even in the daylight.



Blue-winged Teal flocks are trickling in. They are usually the first wintering ducks to arrive.



I was watching from the street as I first scanned the lake bank and even from a distance could tell there were some different birds mixed in with the Blue-wingeds. My guess was correct that I had spotted Green-winged Teals here, too. The larger bird on the left is a female Green-winged and the bird on the right is a female Blue-winged. Compare the small green feather in the wing with the blue on the bird above.



I usually don't find too many Green-winged Teal here. These are probably the first on Lake Davis for me. They are pretty secretive and I always get them on days with horrible weather and lighting. Especially the males.



Today there were only female Green-winged Teals. But three of them is a good total.



Looking forward to more arrivals. Bring on the ducks!