Also called a zebra duck, the Pink-eared Duck is a beautiful bird that sits low in the water, filter feeds with its distinctive bill, flies and gathers in very large flocks and yaps when disturbed or in flight, plus the male has a pink ear. The ones I watched seemed to have a light pink patch rather than the full dark pink so maybe they were testing each other in a young bachelor’s gathering, I did not notice any females. I often see many in huge flocks (10,000s+) at the pooh farm. There were 50+ at Jawbone on the weekend and due to the width of the lagoons I managed to get fairly close without spooking them too much – a very difficult thing to do at the pooh farm where they spook much more easily due to the number of raptors cruising for a meal. We noticed that as they yapped they lifted their head as part of the display, making the fleshy part of the bill more visible. It is a very odd but beautiful duck – one of my favourites.
Pink-eared Duck, Jawbone Flora and Fauna Reserve, Williamstown
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Filed under: Bird Behaviour, Birds, Victoria Tagged: Australia, Australian Birds, Bird Photography, Jawbone, Jawbone Flora and Fauna Reserve, Nature Photography, Photography, Pink Eared Duck, Victoria, Williamstown
