Field and Swamp: Animals and Their Habitats

Birds that live on or near the water

Also see Backyard Birds, the Bird Blog,  Zoo Birds and the Audubon Swamp Garden page.  See Masonboro Island stamps with my photos on them, put out by the Wilmington Philatelic Society.

Ducks   Geese   Swans   Rails and Coots   Grebes   Herons and Egrets   Ibises   Vultures   Gulls and Terns   Plovers and Killdeers  

Oystercatchers    Sandpipers and allies     Pelicans    Anhingas    Cormorants

NOTE:  All below classifications have been checked for validity against the Integrated Taxonomic Information System.  

Dabbling Ducks: Anas genus (Anatinae subfamily, Anatidae family, Anseriformes order)

Male Blue-winged Teal (Anas discors), Audubon Swamp Garden, Charleston County, SC, 3/28/06.	Male Blue-winged Teal flying, Audubon Swamp Garden, Charleston County, SC, 3/28/06	Female and male Blue-winged Teals, Audubon Swamp Garden

Female Blue-winged Teal and offspring, Audubon Swamp Garden, Charleston County, SC,  3/28/04.

Breeding male Northern Pintail (Anas acuta), Pea Island NWR, Dare County, NC, 1/2/06	Northern Pintails, Lake Mattamuskeet, Hyde County, NC, 1/2/06

Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) couple, Duke Gardens, 3/9/06.  To order products with this photo on them, visit our store.

Mallard  family, Duke Gardens, 5/29/03.	Same family.  Note that both the male and female have some blue feathers.	Mallard couple, Greenville, Pitt County, NC, 11/17/05

Mallard ducklings in these three pictures appeared in Ocracoke, NC on 5/10/0.	Both of these are dark brown, with lighting differences.	Why the difference in coloring?	Half-grown mallard from same family.  Plumage is lighter colored than that of Ocracoke ducklings on left.

Young Mallard, Duke Gardens, Durham, 7/19/05	Mallard family, Duke Gardens, 7/24/05	Mallard Ducklings, Duke Gardens, 7/24/05, hiding in grass.

These are two pictures of the same Mallard feather taken from different angles.  As the camera moved to the rear of the duck, the feather color changed from blue to purple.  Taken at Duke Gardens, 3/9/06.

Northern Shoveler (Anas clypeata) pair.  They appeared around 6:30 pm.  Gulfport, Harrison County, MS, 1/11/09

Goldeneye Ducks: Bucephala genus (Anatinae subfamily, Anatidae family, Anseriformes order)

Female Bufflehead (Bucephala albeola), Pea Island NWR, Dare County, NC, 1/3/06	Buffleheads, Carolina Beach, New Hanover County, NC, 12/21/06.  Most are male, although the one in the front is clearly female.

Wood Ducks: Aix sponsa (Anatinae subfamily, Anatidae family, Anseriformes order)

Non-breeding male Wood Duck (Aix sponsa), Ft. Fisher Aquarium, New Hanover County, NC, 6/26/08

Wood Ducks Seen at Bass Lake in Moses Cone Memorial Park, Watauga County, NC, 8/8/06.  According to Dwayne Martin, Eric Dean, Diana Davis, Greg Dodge, Curtis Smalling, Bob Perkins, Steve Compton, Andy Haines and Jennifer Gordon,  these are Wood Ducks.  The general consensus was that they were juveniles or males in non-breeding ("eclipse")  plumage.  Curtis Smallwood wrote: "The young males look like this from about day 100-130 which would be about right for this time of year."

Ducks: Cairina genus (Anatinae subfamily, Anatidae family, Anseriformes order)

There is great variety in appearance among members of this formerly domestic species.

Domestic Muscovy Duck, Lake Lynn, Raleigh, NC, 8/29/02.  This is an imported species according to Will Cook of Duke U.	Domestic Muscovy Duck, same time and place as duck on left.  This white duck has yellow and black-and-white ducklings.  Lake Lynn had dried up quite a bit after a drought.	This is one of the Muscovy ducklings pictured on the left.

Muscovy Duck, Black Mountain, NC on 7/14/02.

Diving Ducks: Aythya genus (Anatinae subfamily, Anatidae family, Anseriformes order)

Breeding female Lesser Scaup (Aythya affinis), Lake Park, Carolina Beach, New Hanover County, NC, 1/5/08	Breeding male Lesser Scaup (Aythya affinis), Lake Park, Carolina Beach, New Hanover County, NC, 12/22/09

Redhead (Aythya americana), male in breeding plumage, Lake Park, Carolina Beach, New Hanover County, NC, 1/5/08	Canvasback (Aythya valisineria), 6/12/09

Ducks: Dendrocygna genus (Dendrocygninae subfamily, Anatidae family, Anseriformes order)

Black-bellied Whistling Duck (Dendrocygna autumnalis), Brackenridge Park, San Antonio, Bexar County, TX, 5/28/10

Ducks: European breed (Blue Swede)

Blue Swede, a European domestic breed, seen with mallards at Al Buehler Trail, Duke University, Durham, NC, 8/23/06.  ID thanks to Jennifer Gordon of Carolina Waterfowl Rescue.  Dwayne Martin, Eric Dean, Diana Davis, Greg Dodge, Curtis Smalling, Bob Perkins, Steve Compton, Andy Haines are agreed that this is related to Mallards.  According to Diana, these domestic ducks escape or are turned loose and interbreed with mallards, diluting the wild genes.

Blue Swede, Lake Park, Carolina Beach, New Hanover County, NC, 3/8/09

Ducks in captivity but kept outdoors

The wings of these birds were clipped.  To see other birds in captivity, visit Zoo Birds and Duke Gardens Exotic Birds.

Male Hooded Merganser (Lophodytes cucullatus), Duke Gardens, Durham, NC, 12/15/02.  This duck, also belonging to Duke and therefore not "wild," is a member of a species which winters here, but this is also the edge of its breeding range.	Female Hooded Merganser, NC Zoo, Asheboro, Randolph County, NC, 5/9/07	Female Hooded Merganser, NC Zoo, Asheboro, Randolph County, NC, 11/13/05	Maybe a female Wood Duck (Aix sponsa), NC Zoo, Asheboro, Randolph County, NC, 11/13/05

Geese (Anatidae family, Anseriformes order)

Snow Geese (Chen caerulescens), seen on Pea Island NWR, Dare County, NC, on 1/3/06. These geese summer in northern Canada during their breeding season; adults and juveniles fly to the mid-Atlantic coast (among other places) in winter.

The goose on the left is apparently a juvenile, while the other is an adult.	In flight.	The geese with the black bodies and white heads are dark-form adult Snow Geese.

Greylag Geese (Anser anser) and Canada Geese (Branta Canadensis)

They aren't related, but I've put them together because of the remarkable interspecies goose couple shown below. 

Greylag (Barnyard) Geese (Anser anser), Black Mountain, NC, 7/14/02, according to Will Cook of Duke University.  This is a domestic species imported from Europe.	Canada Goose goslings, Wannamaker County Park, Charleston County, SC, 3/28/06.	Canada Goose gosling, Wilmington, NC, 6/23/07.  Seen near a drainage pond.

Canada Goose and Greylag Goose  interspecies mating is suggested by some of these scenes.   I first saw this interspecies couple in 2003 and last saw what may have been them in 2005, when they mostly sat around. 

In May 2006, I saw no Greylag Geese and all of the Canada Geese were youthful and energetic.   They and the apparent hybrids pictured below, perhaps the offspring of the original couple, stayed together in a group, but no coupling was apparent.  There were four apparent hybrids in all, and about the same number of Canada Geese.

Goose family, town of Ocracoke, NC, 5/12/03.  Definitely not a typical Canada Goose (Branta Canadensis) family here!  The other adult is a Greylag Goose.  I counted 8 goslings, one of which seems to be facing toward me.  (Purebred Canada Goose goslings are tawny.)	A little over two years later (town of Ocracoke, 5/18/05), I spotted what appears to be this odd couple again.  They stayed on land this time, mostly sitting or eating grass, and I saw them on several different days in the same general area.  I didn't see them in May 2006.  To order products with this photo on them, visit our store.

Apparent Canada Goose/Greylag Goose hybrid, maybe the offspring of the couple on the left, Ocracoke, Hyde County, NC, 5/18/05.  This goose and its Canada Goose companion hung around with the goose couple in the picture on the left in the evenings.	The goose on the right (also pictured at left) hung around with this Canada Goose, doing some swimming and some flying.  The last time I saw them, they had spotted something interesting in Silver Lake and were flying toward it, honking wildly.  Note the contrast between the Canada Goose on the left and the apparent hybrid on the right.  Even though goslings had appeared in Ocracoke in mid-May of 2003, none of any species showed up this time anywhere on Ocracoke Island.	Apparently a Canada Goose/Greylag Goose hybrid.  Ocracoke, Hyde County, NC, 5/10/06	Canada Goose, Ocracoke, Hyde County, NC, 5/10/06

Feral (wild domestic) Geese

These geese are descendants of several Asian species, except for the German Embden Goose and Pomeranian Goose.  There is a lot of interbreeding among these different varieties of geese, which may represent very few true species. 

Grey Saddleback Pomeranian Goose and Embden Goose.  North River Park, Greenville, Pitt County, 2/15/06.  IDs thanks to Jennifer Gordon of the Carolina Wildlife Rescue, Indian Trail, NC.	Chinese Goose, domesticated descendant of the East Asian Swan Goose (Anser cygnoides), the lake at Carolina Beach, New Hanover County, NC.	Same Chinese Goose with some white Embden Geese, a Blue Swede duck and another unidentifiable duck, at Lake Park, Carolina Beach, New Hanover County, NC, 6/26/08.	Embden Geese, Chinese Geese, and a pale variant of the Pomeranian Goose breed, Elizabeth City, Pasquotank County, NC, 12/20/08.

Pomeranian Geese, downtown Elizabeth City, Pasquotank County, NC, 12/20/08.  Note the paler goose.	Egyptian Goose, Durham, NC, 3/29/09

Swan (Anatidae family, Anseriformes order)

Mute Swan (Cygnus olor), Airlie Gardens, Wilmington, NC, 8/28/03, about to begin the preening process.  This is probably a captive animal.	Mute Swan, Pea Island NWR, Dare County, NC,  1/3/06.	Mute Swan, same time and place

Tundra Swans (Cygnus columbianus), Lake Mattamuskeet, Hyde County, NC, 1/2/06

Rails and Coots (Rallidae family, Gruiformes order)

They look like ducks, but only because you can't see their unwebbed feet.

Common Moorhen (Gallinula Chloropus), Audubon Swamp Garden, Charleston County, SC, 3/28/06	Young Common Moorhen, part of a group at Audubon Swamp Garden, 10/11/07.  ID confirmed by Simon T. of simont@charter.net

American Coot (Fulica americana), Ocracoke Island, Hyde County, NC, 5/19/05.	American Coot, Lake Park, Carolina Beach, NC, New Hanover County, NC, 3/9/09	American Coot, lake at Carolina Beach, NC, 12/3/07

American Coots, Lake Mattamuskeet, NC, 1/2/06.

Grebes (Podicipedidae family, Ciconiiformes order)

This is a small bird that can stay under water for a very long time.  As is the case with all rails, its feet aren't webbed.

Pied-billed Grebe (Podilymbus podiceps), Lake Park, Carolina Beach, NC, 3/8/09	Horned Grebes (Podiceps auritus), Bay St. Louis, Hancock County, MS, 1/9/09

Herons, Egrets and Bitterns (Ardeidae family, Ciconiiformes order)

Green Heron (Butorides virescens), Durham, 6/12/05.  This bird came to a small swamp near where I live.	Little Blue Heron (Egretta caerulea), Audubon Swamp Garden, Charleston County, SC, 3/28/06

Tricolored Heron (Egretta tricolor), Ocracoke, Hyde County, NC, 5/10/06	Tricolored Heron, Ocracoke, 5/10/06	Tricolored Heron, Ft. Fisher State Recreational Area, New Hanover County, NC, 12/3/07

Great Blue Heron, Ft. Fisher Basin Trail, New Hanover County, NC, 10/18/05.	Great Blue Heron, Durham, NC, 12/23/05.  Visit our store to see products bearing this image.	Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodeas), Lake Lynn, Wake County, NC.	Great Blue Heron, Gulfport, Harrison County, MS, 1/9/09	Great Blue Heron, South Lido Park, Sarasota County, FL, 2/10/03.	Great Blue Heron, Duke Gardens, 7/24/05.	Great Blue Heron, Duke Gardens, Durham, NC, 12/30/05.	Great Blue Heron, Duke Gardens, Durham, NC, 3/9/06

Great Egret (Ardea alba), Fort Fisher Basin Trail, NC, 9/29/04.	Great Egret, Ocracoke, Hyde County, NC, 5/15/05.	Great Egrets, Audubon Swamp Garden, Charleston County, SC, 3/28/06.  To see products bearing this image, visit our store.	Great Egret, Audubon Swamp Garden, Charleston County, SC, 3/28/06

Snowy Egret (Egretta thula), Ocracoke, Hyde County, NC, 5/18/05.  Note orange feet, in contrast with Great Egret's black feet.	Snowy Egret, Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge, Dare County, NC, 5/7/06	Snowy Egret, Ocracoke Island, 5/19/05	Snowy Egret, Ocracoke, Hyde County, NC, 5/14/07

Cattle Egret returning to nest with twig, Brackenridge Park, Bexar County, San Antonio, TX, 5/28/10	Cattle Egret by San Antonio River, Bexar County, TX, 5/28/10	Cattle Egret (Bubulcus ibis), Ocracoke Island, Hyde County, NC, 5/10/06

Black-crowned Night-Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax), town of Ocracoke, 5/19/05.   As its name suggests, this heron is mainly nocturnal.	Yellow-crowned Night Heron (Nyctanassa violacea), San Antonio, Bexar County, TX, 5/27/10	Yellow-crowned Night Heron (Nyctanassa violacea), Wilmington, New Hanover County, NC, 6/23/07

American Bittern (Botaurus lentiginosus), Ft. Fisher State Recreational Area, New Hanover County, NC, 12/19/06.   ID thanks to Ritch Lilly.  Its  NatureServe rank is G4, i.e., "uncommon but not rare" and its corresponding state rank  is S1B ("critically imperiled" breeding population, S3N ("vulnerable" due to restricted range, 80 or fewer population or other similar factors).

Ibises (Threskiornithidae family, Ciconiiformes order)

White Ibises (Eudocimus albus), New Hanover County, NC, 11/19/04.	White Ibis, Pea Island NWR, Dare County, NC, 1/2/06	White Ibis, Audubon Swamp Garden, Charleston County, SC, 3/28/06.  To order products with this photo on them, visit our store.	White Ibis, Audubon Swamp Garden, Charleston County, SC, 3/28/06	White Ibis, Fort Fisher State Recreational Area, New Hanover County, NC, 12/20/06

Vultures (Ciconiidae Family, Ciconiiformes order)

What on earth are vultures doing on this page?  They are more closely related to shore birds than to land birds.

Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura), seen from Route 751 bridge over Jordan Lake, Durham, NC, 3/10/05.	Turkey Vulture, Durham, 2/9/06	Turkey Vulture, Charleston, SC, 3/27/06

Gulls (Laridae family, Ciconiiformes order)

Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis), North Beach, Carolina Beach, NC, 12/14/04.  You won't find this gull in NC in the summer:  this species goes up to southern Canada and the very northern continental US then.	Immature Herring Gull, Ocracoke, 5/9/04.	Juvenile Laughing Gull,  Kure Beach, NC, 12/14/04.	Laughing Gull (Larus atricilla) near Hatteras Island, NC, 5/14/03.  This is a breeding adult.  In the winter, this kind of gull has a white head.	Another adult Laughing Gull, Ocracoke, 5/14/04.	Adult Laughing Gulls, Sarasota Jungle Gardens, Sarasota, FL.	Semipalmated Plover

Great Black-backed Gull (Larus marinus), Ocracoke, Hyde County, NC, 5/15/07	Laughing Gull, Harkers Island, 3/22/05	Ring-billed Gull, Harkers Island, 3/22/05	Ring-billed Gull, Harker's Island, 3/22/05	Bonaparte's Gull, Myrtle Beach, SC, 3/17/08

Royal Tern, Ocracoke, Hyde County, NC, 5/14/07.	Royal Tern (Sterna maxima), breeding plumage, Ocracoke Island, Hyde County, NC, in flight, 5/9/06	Royal Terns (in breeding plumage), Ocracoke Island, Hyde County, NC, perhaps greeting the Hatteras Ferry, 5/9/06.	Forster's Tern (Sterna forsteri), Gulfport, Harrison County, MS, 1/10/09.

Plovers, Killdeer and Oystercatchers  (Charadriidae family, Ciconiiformes order)

Black-bellied Plover (Pluvialis squatarola), Ocracoke Island, 5/16/05 (breeding plumage).	Killdeer (Charadrius vociferus), Asheboro, Randolph County, NC, 4/6/05.  This killdeer appeared near a lake.	Killdeer, Bay St. Louis, Hancock County, MS, 1/11/09	Killdeer in flight, Bay St. Louis, Hancock County, MS, 1/11/09

American Oystercatcher (Haematopus palliatus), Ocracoke Island (north shore), 5/9/04.	American Oystercatcher, Ocracoke, Hyde County, NC, 5/10/06	American Oystercatchers, Battery Buchanan jetty, Ft. Fisher Recreational Area, New Hanover County, NC, 12/22/09

Sandpipers, Sanderlings, Ruddy Turnstones, Yellowlegs (Scolopacidae family, Ciconiiformes order)

Juvenile Sanderling (Calidris alba), Ocracoke, 5/9/04.  A kind of sandpiper.	Sanderling, Carolina Beach, 10/20/05	Dunlin (Calidris alpina), Ocracoke, Hyde County, NC, 5/10/06.  Breeding plumage.	Ruddy Turnstones (Atenaria interpres), Ocracoke Island, 5/16/05.  These migratory birds summer in northern Canada.	Ruddy Turnstone, Ocracoke Island, 5/16/05.

Willet (Catoptrophorus semipalmatus), Fort Fisher Recreational Area, New Hanover County, NC, 6/21/07	Willet, Carolina Beach, NC, 9/18/07	Spotted Sandpiper (Actitis macularia), Ocracoke, Hyde County, NC, 5/10/06

Greater Yellowlegs, Ocracoke, Hyde County, NC, 5/10/06	Greater Yellowlegs, Huntington Beach State Park, SC, 3/18/08	Lesser Yellowlegs (Tringa flavipes), Durham, 5/2/05.  This sandpiper appeared in a small swamp in my neighborhood.

Pelicans (Pelecanidae family, Ciconiiformes order)

Brown Pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis), South Lido Park, near Sarasota, FL, 2/10/03.  This little park has the tamest wildlife of any place I've ever seen.  People come here to fish on a regular basis and big birds such as this pelican waited for handouts.  This pelican was a wallflower, chased away by a fisherman who favored a great blue heron.	Brown Pelicans, Kure Beach, New Hanover County, NC, 4/29/05, in breeding plumage as is the pelican on the left.	Brown Pelican,  Morehead City, Carteret County, NC, 3/22/05, in winter plumage.	Brown Pelican, Kure Beach, NC, 4/29/05.  In breeding plumage.	Juvenile Brown Pelican, Kure Beach, NC, 12/12/05.

Brown Pelican demonstrating bone structure of wings,  Carolina Beach, New Hanover County, NC, 3/9/09	Flying Brown Pelican, Carolina Beach, New Hanover County, NC, 3/9/09	Diving Brown Pelican, Carolina Beach, New Hanover County, NC, 3/9/09

Anhingas (Anhingidae family, Ciconiiformes order)

The anhingas in the first three pictures are non-breeding males according to Sibley.

Anhinga, Audubon Swamp Garden, Charleston County, SC, 3/28/06	Anhinga, Audubon Swamp Garden, Charleston County, SC, 3/28/06	Anhinga, Audubon Swamp Garden, Charleston County, SC, 3/28/06

Cormorants (Phalacrocoracidae family, Ciconiiformes order)

According to North Carolina GAP Analysis Project,  the double-crested cormorant has a NatureServe state rank of S1B, meaning its NC breeding population is "critically imperiled."

Double-crested Cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus), juvenile, Carolina Beach, NC, 8/8/02.  Cormorants don't have the oils necessary to keep their feathers waterproof, so they let them dry in this fashion.  Until you understand this, though, this process can be an alarming sight!	Double-crested Cormorant, Carolina Beach, NC, 12/21/06	Double-crested Cormorant, Huntington Beach State Park, 3/18/08