[SanFranDianne]

I spotted one duck last year and posted the photo, which several TOTVers were kind enough to identify. This year, there is a huge flock of Magansers, males and females. They are fascinating to watch; you can see them at Lake Sanibel.

[buggyone]

Very nice photo! Those are Hooded Mergansers. The males have that remarkable coloring on their head.

We sure get a lot of variety of water birds here in The Villages.

[CFrance]

Do they stay all winter, or are they just passing through?

[tippyclubb]

They are beautiful and this is a species of bird that I have not seen yet. When I get to Florida I can mark the Hooded Merganser off the list. There is also a Common and Red breasted Merganser.

[tippyclubb]

Originally Posted by CFrance

Do they stay all winter, or are they just passing through?

They spend the winter in Florida and head north when spring arrives.

[Linwood]

There are also Blue winged teal, Gadwalls, Mallards, Ringnecks, Grebes, Black Ducks,
to help id any you see this is a good source for me:

Waterfowl ID, Duck ID, Duck Sounds, Duck Photos, Goose ID: Ducks Unlimited


There is also a flock of black-bellied whistlers -

Black-bellied Whistling Duck Facts, Figures, Description and Photo

which according to Ducks Unlimited, live on the gulf coast in Texas south - - not a clue how they got here!

[SanFranDianne]

Originally Posted by SanFranDianne

I spotted one duck last year and posted the photo, which several TOTVers were kind enough to identify. This year, there is a huge flock of Magansers, males and females. They are fascinating to watch; you can see them at Lake Sanibel.

This wood stork will always be the most fascinating in Lake Sanibel so far. About a dozen of them hung out for a week, and then they were gone.