bbdown's Identifications

Cool, overcast, strong, gusting wind, around 20 degrees Celsius

A long sequence of interactions of the resident Blue-billed Duck, BBD, pair on the lake.

At the lake earlier today on a warmer day with a strong gusting wind at the start of a long cycle before an expected late cool change with rain. I pulled up to the viewing area and the male and female BBD seemed to have finished diving to feed in the north-west corner and were paddling east parallel with the bank about 6m out, the female following the male about 2m behind. I rushed to get out the camera and the male stopped in the same spot as yesterday afternoon, a little closer about 6m out, north-east of the left side of the overflow works and started to bathe and preen. The female stopped a couple of metres west of him, also bathing and preening. Dark however a good opportunity for pics. He bathed and flicked water high and she paddled in about 1m north and stopped level with him. He paddled 1m west for a little distance and she stopped, a little hunched, watching him. He drifted another metre west on the breeze and continued bathing and preening. She stopped where he'd been bathing previously and preened, pausing to watch him. She stopped watching him as she seemed to get engrossed with her own preening and he stopped, chest, neck and head forming an S, tail fanned 60 degrees behind him and watched her intently - a definite shared interest in each other, sad it's past the breeding season. He then launched into a mirror preening routine, the two in sync, about 2m apart. She preened, he stopped, paddled north another metre and slowly past her as she preened, another metre and stopping then curling up to nap, bill over his right shoulder and tucked under the top of his left wing, tail facing north, drifting closer, level with her, both about 6m out. She bathed, stopping to briefly watch me, he started kicking out his left leg behind into the air for around a minute like a dog sleeping and dreaming. She watched him briefly then continued to preen, kicking under to raise her body up and preen her chest with her bill. She rolled onto her right side, left leg in the air to preen her side, showing off her big left foot, slightly curled up. She seemed to be using her right foot below the surface to kick her body subtly towards him into the breeze as she kept preening her left side. She moved to within 1 metre west-northwest of him, facing east, then briefly rose up to start to flap her wings however both he and she have been moulting out the tail and then long wing feathers and it was clear the long wing feathers were gone, new feathers slowly growing out, perhaps painful so she didn't flap them which is usual with full wings, just a slight waggle with them folded up and 45 degrees out and back before she settled back down. The male BBD had been in a heavy moult, his long wing and tail feathers now about 2/3 grown out; the female BBD's tail feathers mostly stubby to 1/3 grown back out, long wing feathers only short, thin stubs so she's got a few weeks to go before she's ready to fly again. She briefly rolled onto her right side, a quick scratch under her left chin with her left foot before setting down to some nuzzling preening of her back. Rolling onto her left side she turned to preening her right side and tummy, working back towards the tail and slowly spinning clockwise with the effort. Finished, facing east, she did a slow anticlockwise spin to face west as she dipped her bill, attempting to dislodge a white, downy tummy feather from the right front tip of her bill but gave up. A Pacific Black Duck paddled close in front, headed west, and she briefly opened her bill in dissatisfaction as it approached then relented and she curled up to nap, head turned over her right shoulder, bill buried in the top of her left wing, tail facing east about 1m north-west of the male who was a mirror or her. They both seemed to be napping however intermittently keeping eye contact. Not for long though as a couple of Coots approached from the east and she raised her stiff tail feathers 80 degrees. The dipping Coots passed by, east to west, the female BBD looking little put out at the close transit, watching them pass by as they dipped for Eel Grass strands. The Coots having passed, she turned back and paddled in to the male who then looked a little put out, popping up and paddling a little further away - they do like their personal space. He stopped, facing south and she paused half a metre from him, also looking south, then south-west. Seemingly satisfied with a comfortable distance, the male BBD curled back up to nap, bill over his right shoulder, tucked into the top of his left wing, tail facing north. She turned, facing west, looking a little irritated that he's keeping his distance. She spun slowly clockwise to face north, looked at me, then continued to face east before again scratching under her left chin with her large left foot. A little preeing of the foot before settling down facing south. Another dipping Coot paddled close in front, west to east and the pair again looked a little put out, the male popping up to show his displeasure, tail fanned at 80 degrees - not happy at the continued invasion of personal space, the female looking a little rigid and hunched, facing west-sout-west, bill opened to warn away another impudent dipping Coot to the south-west, it really was too much! The northerly Coot stopped half a metre in front of the male BBD to tuck into a length of tasty Eel Grass and the sleeping male BBD relented, tucking back up to nap again, tail facing west as his partner sat hunched and annoyed about 40cm west of him, still staring west, bill slightly open in protest, with more dipping Coots and Pacific Black Ducks seemingly set to drift in towards the BBD pair. The dipping Coots and Pac Blacks drifted away west on the breeze and the female BBD relaxed, curling up to nap, bill over her right shoulder, tucked under the top of her left wing, about 40cm west of the male, tail pointed at him so she could watch him. He napped with his tail pointed at her, bill over his right shoulder, tucked into the top of his left wing, also seemingly so he could watch her, both a comfortable pair. The pose may also allow for them to surveil the area behind each other for better protection. Several more pics of the napping pair then packing up to leave.
Camera away, a very large and noisy flock of maybe 200 Little Corellas flew in from the south-west, briefly landing in the overhanging Swamp Gum to my left however after a minute the Noisy Miners in the western then northern trees started screeching in alarm and maybe 30 Wood Ducks, 20 Pac Blacks, 5 Dusky Moorhen, 2 Swamp Hens and 30 Coots squawked in alarm and rushed from the north-western bank out onto the water; to the south-east, even large grazing White Ibis and Straw-necked Ibis took flight in alarm, flying low and fast to the north-east. The BBD pair went to full alert, tails at 90 degrees, necks vertical, heads rigidly horizontal, scanning for threats west-south-west - all typical behaviour when a bird of prey is around. The flock of Little Corellas took flight, screeching in alarm, flying low off to the north-east and I looked up and around to see the silhouette of a raptor flying quick, sharp turns about 120m up over the central-west of the lake, bouncing on the wind and drifting further west. Noisy Miners and Starlings flew low and away with Welcome Swallows speeding away low in all directions. The raptor turned round and round, bouncing on the strong, gusting wind, very fast for a minute doing clockwise, jagged circuits before bouncing away fast to the west and the lake birds settled back down - no meal for the raptor! Maybe a Brown Goshawk, difficult to tell in the poor light.
Threat passed, the lake birds settled down to preen and chatter in a close, comforting group. The BBD pair, normally requiring personal space, didn't mind the close company and returned to their previous close napping positions with the other lake birds paddling around, bathing, chattering, dipping on this cold, dark, blustery day.

Cold, overcast, around 14 degrees Celsius

A photo sequence of the female Blue-billed Duck, BBD, of a resident male/female pair living on the lake - see a separate entry for photos of the male BBD.

At the viewing area in the north-west and the male BBD came paddling fast from the hidden north-east about 8m out trailed by 2m by the female BBD working hard to keep up. He steamed past, a few water flicks into the air with his bill as he paddled by, turning out south-west another 2m and stopping level with the right side of the overflow works into Blind Creek. The female BBD stopped level with the male about 2.5m east and the pair started bathing, the female facing east, stopping to scratch under her left chin with her large left foot, the male watching the camera briefly before a vigorous thrash bathing. The female BBD rose up flap her wings showing long wing feathers growing out at the trailing edges of the wings, stubs a few cm's long, beginning to unfurl the brown feathers from the tips like budding flowers. She settled down to bathe and preen and I turned to the male who was wallowing low, shaking his wings below the water as he twisted left and right facing south-west to north-west. A Coot paddled in, diving for Eel Grass a metre away which seemed to spook the wallowing male and he surged away another 2 metres west before returning to his thrash bathing, slowly moving away to the south-west. He paused, facing south, looking back towards the female BBD still bathing and preening, turning back to face her before returning to his vigorous, wallowing thrash bathing, tail feathers fanned wide at 30 degrees behind. He spun back to watch me. Stopped. Turned to the female BBD then back to me, then continued to thrash bathe, rotating to the east, chest puffed out, tail fanned wide and at the water level, head hunched down - looking like a combination mating display and thrash bathe. He wallowed low as he turned south and back east, flick turn west and rising up to flap his wings which are back to being full after a heavy moult, with the exception of maybe a few long feathers on his left wing. He settled down and paddled a few metres south-west, stopping for more bathing and preening. The female BBD was still bathing and preening, slowly working south. The pair eventually worked in front of the overhanging Swamp Gum on the western bank, still bathing and preening. Getting very dark with gathering heavy cloud, time to leave.

Cold, overcast, around 14 degrees Celsius

A photo sequence of the male Blue-billed Duck, BBD, of a resident male/female pair living on the lake - see a separate entry for photos of the female BBD.

At the viewing area in the north-west and the male BBD came paddling fast from the hidden north-east about 8m out trailed by 2m by the female BBD working hard to keep up. He steamed past, a few water flicks into the air with his bill as he paddled by, turning out south-west another 2m and stopping level with the right side of the overflow works into Blind Creek. The female BBD stopped level with the male about 2.5m east and the pair started bathing, the female facing east, stopping to scratch under her left chin with her large left foot, the male watching the camera briefly before a vigorous thrash bathing. The female BBD rose up flap her wings showing long wing feathers growing out at the trailing edges of the wings, stubs a few cm's long, beginning to unfurl the brown feathers from the tips like budding flowers. She settled down to bathe and preen and I turned to the male who was wallowing low, shaking his wings below the water as he twisted left and right facing south-west to north-west. A Coot paddled in, diving for Eel Grass a metre away which seemed to spook the wallowing male and he surged away another 2 metres west before returning to his thrash bathing, slowly moving away to the south-west. He paused, facing south, looking back towards the female BBD still bathing and preening, turning back to face her before returning to his vigorous, wallowing thrash bathing, tail feathers fanned wide at 30 degrees behind. He spun back to watch me. Stopped. Turned to the female BBD then back to me, then continued to thrash bathe, rotating to the east, chest puffed out, tail fanned wide and at the water level, head hunched down - looking like a combination mating display and thrash bathe. He wallowed low as he turned south and back east, flick turn west and rising up to flap his wings which are back to being full after a heavy moult, with the exception of maybe a few long feathers on his left wing. He settled down and paddled a few metres south-west, stopping for more bathing and preening. The female BBD was still bathing and preening, slowly working south. The pair eventually worked in front of the overhanging Swamp Gum on the western bank, still bathing and preening. Getting very dark with gathering heavy cloud, time to leave.