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Black-bellied Whistling-Duck in Colleton County, SC.



Today at Donnelly Wildlife Management Area (near Green
Pond, SC), Burton Moore, Lloyd Moon, Robert Grenfell
and I had a Black-bellied Whistling-Duck.  It was in
the shallow impoundment just past the big impoundment 
behind the old clubhouse/hunting lodge on Billy Fields
Road.  The bird was unbanded, fairly wary and
presumably wild.  I got some pretty sick video and
Burton took some good still photos.

As we got near the impoundment, I saw a duck with a
gray face, light eye ring, red bill, brown breast,
pink legs, black belly and pale stripe down the side
where the scapulars meet the flanks.  In my
excitement, I exclaimed "it's a  @#$%&* Black-bellied
Whistling Duck".  Fortunately there weren't any tender
ears present.

To reach the bird: go in the main entrance to
Donnelly.  After a while, turn right where the sign
says  "Lodge", then ride past the first place Billy
Fields Road goes off to the right and continue until
the T-intersection beside the brown wooden hunting
lodge.  Turn right onto the other end of  Billy Fields
Road (it's U-shaped), go past the very first
impoundment and look to the right at the shallow
impoundment with the mudflat edges lined with marsh
grass and tree snags.  The bird was feeding in the
shallow water, walking/wading along the mudflats and
swimming into the grass along the deeper canal that
runs down one side of the impoundment.

The mudflats beside the shallow impoundment also had
Least, Semipalmated and Pectoral Sandpipers, as well
as Short-billed Dowitchers.  White Pelicans and Wood
Storks were overhead.

Nathan Dias - Charleston, SC.


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