Black-bellied Whistling-Duck Photo Gallery by Greg Lavaty at pbase.com

Black-bellied Whistling-Duck

Dendrocygna autumnalis

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Barbara Irwin		17-Sep-2018 01:25
I live in Fredericksburg Texas. Recently a pair of Whistling=ducks flew into our gated community and started a family. There are 14 babies now and they have been enjoying our live creek with large trees that circle the nature trail. We have been enjoying the babies and their growth to adulthood. They now are taking flying lessons from Mom and Pop and flying the length of the creek. We hope that they decide to make a home here. These are the first whistling ducks that we have had here and are great entertainment. Love the whistling sounds.

Julie		09-May-2018 22:28
I live in New Orleans. My husband and I raise a few chickens in our back yard. Last week we bought four new chickens and two little ducks. After having the little ducks for two days, two black-bellied whistling ducks started coming into our yard. We never had ducks here before! They seem to be quite comfortable now and are here almost every day!!

Dave		18-Jan-2018 18:31
I live in Twin Rivers fl and have a pond behind my house. In May I noticed a whistling duck come around the pond with 16 chicks to my birdfeeder. Needless to say the past summer 2 more broods came by in late Oct.. I put out Cracked corn and they love it. I now have 40-50 adults evefry morning for 30 min and late evening for the same. They know me and let me walk around them. What a treat.

Robert Nichol		24-Apr-2017 12:57
I put a mix of seed and corn out for our usual mallards, birds, and squirrels. First a pair of these beautiful ducks showed up one day, yesterday 4 more came. We live in the Brandon Riverview area, on a well developed pond. I have lived In the Tampa area for almost 30 years, I have not seen this breed before.

Guest		19-Apr-2017 02:33
I live in Cypress, Texas and we had 4 of these beautiful ducks in our yard this morning. I had never seen them here before.

Tim		03-Apr-2017 11:49
We live in Bradenton Florida and noticed three weeks ago flocks of birds flying over our house at dusk making this odd noise as they flew. Then about a dozen showed up Saturday morning in our driveway and eventually flew off. I had never seen these before this year and discovered they are Black-bellied Whistling Ducks. What a beautiful bird.

JayD		01-Sep-2016 14:13
A flock of 8-10 BBWD flew around our little lake (Silver Lake) here in southern Delaware and landed for about 5 minutes near my dock while I watched through binoculars. I believe they are far out of their usual range.

Dee		06-Aug-2016 21:42
A black-belly and her babies were found in our garage. They are now in a pond across the street in our subdivision in Sugar Land, TX. We'very also had yellow-crowned night herons nesting in trees across the street. They'really from nearby Brazos Bend State Park

Nancy M.		23-Jul-2016 14:06
I live on a lake in Bradenton, Florida and I saw a pair of Black-bellied whistling ducks for the first time this morning. I am excited to have them visiting our lake and look forward to hearing their interesting call.

Guest		13-Apr-2016 22:57
We have a very large flock hanging out at our lake in Ft. Myers, Fl. They have been here over a month and we love watching them. This is the first year we have had the pleasure of their company.

Ken		19-Mar-2016 01:58
I was just introduced to a fairly large flock of these interesting birds today. We live in Sun City Center, FL, about 20 miles south of Tampa. We were visiting friends about 4 miles way, in an older housing development that used to be a golf course. When they told us about the whistling ducks that love to roost on their roof I had never heard of such a thing. about an hour before dusk the birds came circling in and starting landing on their roof, but no one else's. I am fascinated with these interesting birds.

Lynn & Sue		23-Apr-2015 17:56
We have a pair on Bayou DeSiard for over a week. They seem to like area. I noted a comment by someone that had spotted some in May 2013 on the bayou at their house. This is the first time this duck seen in our area because we sit on our deck everyday watching wildlife in afternoon.

Sally		17-Apr-2015 18:20
These beautiful ducks have been coming around for about 10 years. The last 2 yrs. they have called my pond home for the summer months. They come right up to the house to eat the chicken scratch every day. I had to look them up to id them and am hoping to see some chicks this year now that they are comforble seeing me. I live outside of Somerville, Tx. . Such a joy to see and have them visit. They have been here about 3 weeks now.

pam		30-Aug-2014 15:40
I live in Houston and have a pair of these beautiful ducks visiting my pool with their babies. they seem to be making sure they can swim and get in and out ok. this is second bunch of babies this summer and there are 7. one seems smaller than others and has a lot of trouble getting out of pool and over landscape timbers areond flower beds. i hope he makes it and gets bigger. none can fly yet. very cute and surprising to see. ive lived here 10 years and this is first year ive seen them.

Lisa		31-Jul-2013 14:49
I just found out that we have these cool ducks in a holding pond in our neighborhood in Tallahassee. There are about 14. A neighbor is feeding them corn. They are really interesting and pretty!

Guest		26-Jul-2013 19:56
Gainesville, FL - my dad and I were out geocaching and spotted a pair with 15 chicks! They were hanging out at a retention pond.

Guest		07-Jul-2013 01:19
I live in east texas and i just saw these ducks for the first time in my pond

Elisabeth Diamond		15-Jun-2013 15:21
I live in Gilchrist County, Florida and have a pair nesting in a tree in my yard. I never seen these ducks here before. They are neat!

Cindy Briggs		13-Jun-2013 01:27
I live in Agawam Ma and I have had a pair if I believe BlackBellied Whistling ducks in my willow tree 3yrs in a row....this is the first year I saw the bbabies as they fell out of the tree and mom gathered them together and waddling off they went. One thing...she had a patch of teal blue on her wings...she sure was pretty! People think I am crazy when I tell them Ihave ducks in my tree lol

Reed Fontenot		01-Jun-2013 19:44
I live near the Lake Charles Country Club in Lake Charles, LA. A Black Bellied Whistling Tree Duck is nesting in my Wood Duck box and this morning, when she flew out of the box, I opened the side door and counted 26 eggs. Wow!

Guest		26-May-2013 19:32
We live in Bartow, FL, and have a lake at the bottom of our yard, which use to be a sulfer mine. We started with 5 of these beauties when we first rented the house, and now can have up to 100 at any given time! My husband is a "bird man" and started feeding them wild bird seed. They generally get fed once or twice a day, and if we run out of food, they come up to our screen door, looking at us as if to say "Hey, its supper time!"

Matthew Molosso		26-May-2013 00:03
yes i have seen this breed... i just bought a house on the bayou in Monroe, La and saw them on the edge of the bayou on my property. i didnt know what kind they are but they are some very pretty birds. -Matthew Molosso

Guest		14-May-2013 03:57
I live on the east shore of Prien Lake in the city of Lake Charles, Louisiana . This morning I saw two copper colored balls in the neatly mowed St Augustine grass about 10 yards from the water's edge.I grabbed a camera and eased out of my kitchen and toward what turned out to be two odd looking ducks of a variety I had never seen before although I have been a duck observer(camera and hunter) all of my life. Most striking about the pair was that the beaks were beyond typical muted orange... they were a bright orange-red, a beak color different than I had ever seen on waterfowl.Photos found in my web research clearly confirmed they were Northern Black-bellied Whistling Ducks. Has anyone else reading this spotted this breed in my part of the state, Southwest Louisiana? Robby G.

Brenda SmithBrenda Smith		01-May-2013 21:53
I LIVE IN A SMALL TOWN CALLED DESTREHAN LOUISIANA AND YESTERDAY MY BACK YARD WAS FLOODED FROM ALL THE RAIN WE'VE BEEN GETTING AND WHEN I WENT OUT TO SMOKE I SAW A BUNCH OF THESE BIRDS DOODLING AROUND IN THE PONDS OF WATER, I QUICKLY BECAME INTRIGUED BY THE SQUEAKING BIRDS, I FIGURED THEY WERE DUCKS BUT I HAD NEVER SEEN ONE THAT LOOKS LIKE THESE AND I'M VERY FAMILIAR WITH MOST BREEDS SO I STARTED TAKING PICTURES OF THEM WADDLING AROUND MY YARD AND POSTED PICS ON FACEBOOK, NOBODY KNEW WHAT THEY WERE SO I WENT ON MY PHONES INTERNET AND FOUND THIS SITE AND FINALLY THEY HAD A NAME WHICH ONLY MADE ME MORE FASCINATED WITH THESE ODD SOUNDING BIRDS, I THINK THEY ARE BEAUTIFUL AND WOULD LOVE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THEM, ESPECIALLY WHERE THEY CAME FROM, I DO HOPE THEY CONTINUE TO RETURN TO MY YARD BECAUSE I CAN SIT AND WATCH THEM ALL DAY WADDLING AND DOODLING IN THE SMALL PONDS OF WATER AND CHASING EACH OTHER AROUND AS IF THEY WERE PLAYING TAG.

Walter M		27-Apr-2013 21:36
I have 2 of these beautiful birds in a huge tree in my yard. This is second year they have returned. I was surprised they would live in the "burbs"in San Antonio! Just love them!

Guest		26-Aug-2012 04:10
we have a mama and five ducklings in our pool in north Grand Prairie, TX

juan a cantu		19-Aug-2012 16:35
have been seeing this ducks around one of my trees in the backyard for a couple of years, They seem to come and go, yesterday we decided to look in one of the cavities on tree and were very surprised of what was in there, There was a very mad black breasted duck sitting on five eggs, we were able to take a picture of the event I live in Kingsville texas 78363

Guest		24-Jul-2012 15:24
I have a pair of black-bellied whistling ducks in my pond. I just noticed them this morning. They are now living in Kings Point, Sun City Center, FL

Dr. Valentine		19-Jul-2012 02:18
We have a 7 Ac. community fresh water pond on the Ga coast surrounded by marsh. the pond is 48 years old and is a gem. It supports a myriad of wildlife. this year we have had up to 14 Black Bellies come. They are beautiful and causing quite a stir here. Been here about a month now. A neighbor has been putting out a cup of cracked corn and a cup of whole corn. One neighbor thinks this is bad and will hurt them. What should we do??? Or is this insignificant. will it hurt them? Also, if you want to see a beautiful pond go t oYoutube and search "Tolomato Pond" There are 2 videos of the pond. The second on is the best. At about the 8:00 minute mark you see about 50 Wood Storks flying in. Please enjoy an dleave a comment on th esite if you like it. Thanks

Guest		08-Jul-2012 01:27
Is there any way to upload a picture to this site? I just took a beautiful picture of 2 Blacked Bellied ducks in the retention pond behind my house in Lakeland.

Marc		27-Jun-2012 01:54
I saw two black bellied whistlers in Lakeland hanging out in a temporary run off area that has filled from Tropical storm Debbie. I had never seen this type before. Also noticed an area that had 4 ducks one week. The next week over 30 of the regular brown wild ducks hanging around a ditch day and night. I have lived here for over 20 years and have never seen a single duck there and now it looks like a park and the numbers keep growing. No one is feeding them and the cars stop to let them cross the street if they want. Small side road between Pipkin Rd. and South Florida Ave by Outback. Worth the drive by just to see how crazy it is becoming. Most are in a couple inches of water from the latest rains.

Marc		27-Jun-2012 01:51
I saw two black bellied whistlers in Lakeland hanging out in a temporary run off area that has filled from Tropical storm Debbie. I had never seen this type before. Also noticed an area that had 4 ducks one week. The next week over 30 of the regular brown wild ducks hanging around a ditch day and night. I have lived here for over 20 years and have never seen a single duck there and now it looks like a park and the numbers keep growing. No one is feeding them and the cars stop to let them cross the street if they want. Small side road between Pipkin Rd. and South Florida Ave by Outback. Worth the drive by just to see how crazy it is becoming. Most are in a couple inches of water from the latest rains.

Linda Hitchen		26-Jun-2012 22:37
I have just noticed a pair of Black-bellied Whistling Ducks with 12 babies in my back yard, they were eating bird seed that had fallen on the ground from a bird feeder I have in an orange tree. They kept chasing the doves and squirrels away. They are beautiful to look at,I've never seen them before. I live In West Bradenton, FL with a lake at the bottom of my yard.

Robert R.		17-Jun-2012 21:08
Last week I discovered four eggs under the holly tree in my front yard. The nearest pond is about a mile away on a golf course. We see a single Whistling Duck once every couple of days and only twice was a pair seen. Turns out she has been laying an egg every day or so and now we are up to eight. Can anyone tell me an average number of eggs, will she sit on them at some point, is it usual to be so far from water, how long to hatch, and what can I expect?

Theresa Hoban		09-Jun-2012 21:36
We just had 2 arrive about 2 weeks ago. They spend most of the day sitting on our dock, but don't know where they go at night. We have about 15 mallards 6 wood ducks and 4 common Moorehens that eat out of our feed on the ground but the whislters don't join them. Any ideas about how they socialize with other ducks and chances of them sticking around? Theresa Altamonte springs Florida

Guest		01-Jun-2012 19:26
I live in Punta Gorda, Florida. We were on a golf course and saw at least two dozen of this beautiful ducks. Had to come and look them up on line didn't know what kind they were. JB

amber and mark		01-Apr-2012 13:36
Amber & Mark We live in North Tampa backing up to a small retention pond and started seeing these ducks in mid-march of this year. They started arriving under our bird feeders with 2 Northern Shovlers. They come in a small flock of 6-12. They are shy with us and do chase the squirrels away. They do not seem to swim in the pond. This morning an additional flock of 8 - 10 showed up but did not stay when they saw the other ducks eating here. We are so happy to find your website to help us identify them. We also think they are the mystery ducks that we have heard fly over head for the past 3 months with their whistling call. They are so fun to watch, super curious with us watching them from the lanai. Today we will buy corn as some of you suggested. Happy Watching.

Janet		31-Mar-2012 02:23
I love birds but don't know that much about them. About 7:30 this morning I saw about 30 birds land on two large dead cypress branches about 20 miles west of New Orleans. What caught my eye was their size. When they finally flew by I could see that they were some type of duck. They appeared to be dark with pink legs and neck. After researching pictures, I believe they were black bellied whistling ducks. They were beautiful and I plan to keep an eye out for them again. If anyone knows that these birds were something else, please let me know.

Guest		18-Mar-2012 15:29
We were playing golf at the Apollo Beach golf course located on the east side of Tampa Bay and saw about 15 black bellied whistling ducks there yesterday. It's something of a bird sanctuary with many many different types of birds at any given time. Never saw that type of duck before though.

Tom		16-Jan-2012 13:54
We live in Sarasota and, loving birds as I do, I started feeding several Black Bellied Tree Ducks in my yard. At last count, it was over 120 birds that now call my yard home. Fortunately, my neighbors enjoy the ducks as much as I do and since they leave virtually no mess, I have not received any complaints about feeding them. I feed them whole corn and they love it. They truly are mild-mannered, friendly ducks.

Carol		04-Oct-2011 12:36
I have anywhere from 35 - 40 whistling ducks come to feed every evening at my house. I put out wild bird food for the bird , on my sidewalk and drive way. One day 2 ducks showed up, that was 6 months ago. This Sunday 35 showed up. Last night, I had 40 . I live in the small community of Coleman , Fl.. Just west of lake Panasoffkee.

Ginger		13-Aug-2011 22:10
We live on the gulf coast of Florida in Bradenton. The Community of Christ church next door has a large retention pond between our properties. We have had a lot of rain and the pond is full. Today we spotted a pair of Black bellied Whistling Wood Ducks feeding and swimming in this pond. We often have an assortment of mallards and large native water birds, but never any like these two beauties.

Sandy		29-Jul-2011 20:35
Sitting in my backyard in Cypress, Texas I saw one fly to the roof of my neighbors house! I'd never seen one before so I ran to get the camera! She began making a loud call and then her mate flew over my back fence. She flew down into the yard, running to meet her mate...............low and behold she had a baby running after her! We live in a residential neighborhood far from any large type of pond, lake, etc. We have some gullys, but the drought has all but dried them up. I was stunned that these ducks were nesting somewhere in our neighborhood! I can't imagine the little chick flying just yet!

Guest		28-Jul-2011 02:49
So sorry this repeated two other times. New tablet I am using.

Guest		28-Jul-2011 02:33
I reported almost a month ago about three abandoned baby ducks, and a mother whistling black bellied duck and her brood. The three are now two. Growing and starting to get their flying pin feathers. They have turned out to be mallards. I have a hawk that is hanging around and I believe that is what happened to the third duck. I didn't want to feed them, but I have. I know they need to be able to sustain themselves on the the land they have been born into, but with no mother to protect them I became their protector. So I am hoping they become large enough to not be hawk food, and they will be able to fly soon. The black bellied whistlers have really grown and mom is just as aggressive. She tries to run the mallards off. Tries very hard not to let them eat. They to have come up to feed but they are eating seeds that I put out as well, so they are getting the wild food as well. They definitely have awhile before flying time. The baby whistlers are fighting among themselves. Role playing. They are getting the characteristics of the breed. The are a strong breed of bird and seem quite capable of being the little survivors. Will post in another month and update their final chapter.

Doris Barrell		04-Jul-2011 00:14
We live on Lake Yale just outside Eustis. Earlier in the year a group of 8 whistling ducks came by and later 2 seemed to move into a woodduck house on the edge of the lake. Sometimes there are as many as 6 adults handing around, sometimes only the 2 parents. The parents sit on top of the duck house and lean way over, I guess to feed babies inside? The come off and on throughout the day. Watching with binoculars, I sometimes see one baby reaching out the hole with mouth wide open but today there didn't seem to be activity from inside the house - just the adults visiting outside.

Guest		29-Jun-2011 01:25
I have two sets of these birds in my pond. They were very aggressive to another mother duck of the same species. They ( mom and pop) ran the mother of three off. So these little guys are left to fend for themselves. The other parents have about ten newbies and they (mom and pop) are trying drown the three from the the first mom. I put food out for the the three...hope they survive the elements and the aggressive mom and pop. They are very territorial!!! Nature can be cruel!

Jackie		25-May-2011 01:04
We live in Poinciana, FL (SW of Orlando). About 2 weeks ago a pair flew into our backyard. We have a retention pond behind us, too. They started eating some of the wild bird seed we put out for the birds. They would come in the early morning and leave around sunset. About 4 days ago we only saw one. It stayed all day until well after dark. It did this for about 3 days. Now we see the other doing the same for the last 2 days. There is a slight difference between them so we know it was one for 3 days then the other. We don't understand why they are separated like this.

NancyB		08-May-2011 14:19
Had a pair of Whistling Ducks in our backyard pond off State Road 70 in Bradenton, Fl. Tried to capture a photo but guess I made too much noise trying to "get up close". Off they flew, only hoping to see them return soon. Their bills are SO red!

Guest		13-Apr-2011 01:57
Since the rain last week these ducks have taken up residence in our mobile home park in Zephyrhills

Guest		05-Apr-2011 02:27
These ducks arrived on our lake in Sarasota, FL this past week....had not seen them before...beautiful.

Guest		02-Apr-2011 17:05
After seeing severasl of these ducks on Lake Istokpoga in so central FL we wondered why we didn't see them on our lake and canals and wished they would come over. Be careful what you wish for because we now have over 100 of these beautiful ducks and this summer we saw 3 adults with 14 babies in our canal. We think they hatched in one of the many wood duck boxes here. Where did they all come from and where are they going???? Peggy, Lake Placid FL

Carrie		23-Feb-2011 14:32
We have 14 of these in the lake behind our house in Lakeland, FL. They showed up yesterday, I snapped some photos since we had never seen them before. Beautiful!!!

Michelle		27-Oct-2010 02:14
What lovely photos, thank you for sharing. We had never heard of these ducks either, but we were just down in New Orleans on vacation last week, and saw at least two dozen of them in a pond in the Audubon Park in the Garden District. I took some rather bad photos of them from across the pond (poor light), but the photos showed enough that my mom identified them doing an on-line search. We've never seen these ducks in Chicago. They were quite comical looking, perched on branches of a low hanging tree over the pond, but your photos show how lovely they are also.

Gale Smith		28-Aug-2010 23:21
I can't believe how beautiful the ducks are to see in person. They have been coming to the lake behind my home in Boynton Beach, Fl. Thats way south Florida. I can't figure out why they are here. They were gone for two months or so, and now there are three??? Very agessive though.

gilcobox		27-Aug-2010 19:21
We live in NW Houston and have just had two adults and 15 chick take over our swimming pool. The chicks look like they are only 1-2 days old. Any idea how long they stay or what we should do? Although the are gorgeous to look at and sound heavenly, they are aggressive... Any ideas???

Crystal Mount		10-Aug-2010 19:56
We have a couple that stay on my parents pond during the day in the summer. We have seen up to six fly over every evening on their way to other ponds. This is the first year we have seen ducklings. One was spotted entering the pond with no other ducks in view. They look nothing like their parents. It is so good to see that they are increasing in our area. We are 35 miles southeast of Dallas in Scurry, TX.

Mary Kay		08-Jul-2010 00:39
We've had these ducks come around for about a day or two for the last 2 yrs; however, this year they seem quite content settling in & eating the bird seed and cracked corn I put out for our mallards/brown ducks. Beautiful ducks but aggressive and scaring away the other ducks & birds. Summerfield, Fl.

Guest		29-Jun-2010 14:55
Thanks for helping me to identify the three black-bellied whistling ducks which are now in the pond behind my house in Raleigh,NC. I believe it is somewhat unusual for these birds to be seen in North Carolina.

Guest		14-Jun-2010 19:38
Thank you for posting all of these pictures. It helped us identify the family that came to our neighborhood in the DFW metroplex. The little ducklings are very cute.

Dale		10-Jun-2010 01:10
I have never seen this duck before. We have had lots of Mottled Ducks and some Muscovy Ducks. For the past 2 years, 2 pair of beautiful Wood Ducks come to our pond for a few weeks at a time. I did not recognize the Whistlers. Just two of them showed up, amidst a flock of Mottled Ducks. Their bright orange beaks and long legs stand out! They are really beautiful birds. I haven't heard their call yet. I do hope they come back. We put cracked and whole corn out every day for the Deer and the Ducks. We live in south Pasco County Florida.

guest		04-Jun-2010 17:30
We have several of these visiting our pond in Rosharon TX not far from the brazos bend state park. This morning a proud pair seem to be herding at least 20 ducklings. They get along pretty well with our mallards and geese and take advantage of the cracked corn and floating catfish food. (I hope they dont eat catfish fingerlings becuase I just stocked)

Guest		03-Jun-2010 18:51
i have been seeing the ducks around my parents home, didnt know what they were, now i do. enjoy watching them . grew up here but never noticed them before,

Guest		27-May-2010 03:13
I was walking around a large pond in The Woodlands, TX on my lunch break one day and saw about 6 of these Black-bellied Whistling Ducks flying together and land on the water. I had never seen any type of ducks in this pond before, and was very curious to find out what they were. I checked various websites and finally ID'd them. Your beautiful photos helped to convince me even more that these are the ducks I saw that day. Like other guests have mentioned, their bright reddish-orange bills really caught my eye! Thanks for the great website and I hope to enjoy another sighting of these beautiful birds someday!

Guest		08-May-2010 21:36
We have had a family that comes here every spring to have their babies. I live in Orange Lake Fl. I have become friends with them and they visit everyday. They like to hang out on well kept lawns. So beautiful and comical to watch. They have their own personalities!

Guest		22-Apr-2010 17:49
We live in a small town about 25 miles west of New Orleans, LA. While eating a late breakfast in our backyard which borders a small lake, I noticed the very bright reddish-orange beaks of two ducks which I had never seen here before. (Many other ducks and waterfowl frequent the lake, such as mallards, wood ducks, herons, egrets, kingfishers, coots, etc.). I grabbed my binoculars to get a better look, checked out my husband's duck book (no luck there), and wound up here. I believe that they are black-bellied whistling ducks, though I have not heard their call yet. They are quite beautiful and I hope to see them again, though we seem to get a number of transient ducks here and they may just be passing through...

Guest		22-Apr-2010 14:50
On Wednesday April 21 we spotted a pair of whistling ducks on the ground in the Houston Medical Center near Hermann Park and Zoo. They were beautiful and exotic looking, so much so my husband says it looks as if they may have escaped from the Zoo.

Jo-Ann and Bernie		22-Apr-2010 14:44
Today is April 22, 2010. Two weeks ago a strange brownish duck arrived in our back yard. We had never seen one of these before. We went to Bass Pro Shop in Orlando and found what resembled it in a book there. The next day we had 7. We had not heard of them nor had we heard their call. A week later we counted 38 and are hearing them talk to each other. This morning much to our surprise I lost track of my count at 64, and it sounds like a ruckery in the back yard. We put cracked corn around the trees and I think they love the free food. We live on Johns Lake in Winter Garden. I think we are being blessed by these wonderful little ducks, They are so bueatiful. I hope some stay when they move on to whereever they are going. If anyone is missing their, I think we may have them.

Guest		15-Apr-2010 02:22
Rick We have had up to 9 of these ducks land in our driveway for a year to feed. They come early in the morning and early in the evening. You can certainly hear their distinctive whistling sounds. We live in Sugar Land, Texas.

Rebecca		19-Mar-2010 15:01
We saw a flock of 8-10 on a retention pond in Southwest Austin, TX yesterday while on a walk. I have never seen these ducks around here before and was looking to ID them. You have some great pictures that made it easy to pick them out. The pond was in a large shopping center with lots of Oak trees and the ducks seemed very wary of anyone getting close. Is this a natural place for them to show up?

Guest		26-Dec-2009 02:34
For the entire month of December we have heard these ducks fly over the house in Port SAint Lucie, FL each evening at dusk. The sound was new to us, so we have been very curious. Today we saw a flock in the daytime at a local drainage canal and were able to identify them. We have several flocks of up to about 30 birds each flying over nightly. What a joy. They are really beautiful and what a unique call, we liken it to a kindergarden class playing with dog toys in a pet store!

Bill		27-Aug-2009 21:45
I had never actually seen this bird until my wife and I visited her aunt in Leesburg, FL, where she has a older home on Lake Harris, not far from Eustis. When we arrived, I saw them swimming with their newly hatched young. There were 2 pairs of the whistling ducks and we managed to get a few nice pictures. They are very handsome (my wife says beautiful) but very wary - perhaps also due to the presence of the ducklings - and we watched them for well over an hour. What a treat. Thanks for sharing the photgraphs posted here. They are excellent.

Nancy Oliver		22-Aug-2009 02:09
We have two that have been here for a couple of months (since late June). We live in western Martin County (about 10 miles east of Lake Okeechobee). We are hoping that they will soon have a clutch but are concerned about predators. Does anyone have any suggestions as to how to keep the ducklings safe? If so, please email me - nancy@oliverdesigngroup.com. Thanks!

Nancy Oliver		22-Aug-2009 02:00
We have two that have been here for a couple of months (since late June). We live in western Martin County (about 10 miles east of Lake Okeechobee). We are hoping that they will soon have a clutch but are concerned about predators. Does anyone have any suggestions as to how to keep the ducklings safe? If so, please email me - nancy@oliverdesigngroup.com. Thanks!

Kelly		21-Aug-2009 19:54
These ducks showed up about 2 years ago around our pond on our property in Okeechobee, FL. We started out with just having a pair visit us about 5 times a month. Before long, more started showing up so we began feeding them cracked corn. During breeding season we literally have hundreds of these ducks in our yard and they have successfully propogated as we have watched breeding pairs bring their offspring to our pond as well. These ducks keep us entertained on a daily basis. We no longer need an alarm clock, as they love to announce their arrival at daybreak with their easily recognizable whistle.

David		11-Aug-2009 01:10
We live in Eustis,Florida, Lake County,Central, Florida We have 4 black bellied whistling ducks that come to our yard. We have a small retention pond.This is the first year we have seen them . They seem to be very afraid of people. They fly away if we just start to walk towards them. They started coming to our yard about three months ago. We are now down to only one coming to our yard. Usually twice a day. Once in the morning and then late evening.

Guest		04-Aug-2009 14:56
We had a few of these show up under our squirrel feeder a few months ago. Then we grew to 6. Our cats were bothering them so I started pouring a gallon of corn on a piece of plywood furthur out in our back yard. Now I have counted up to 35 at one time. Trying to figure out a way to keep them happy. Very fun to watch.

Guest		13-Jul-2009 14:23
We have been enjoying these lovely and interesting birds for the last few years here in Uvalde, TX. They roost in trees in yards and parks here in town. They lay their eggs in hollow parts of our large trees. A pair with their 10 ducklings were in our backyard the other morning. The sight of them traipsing down a sidewalk or across a yard herding their ducklings is getting more common, but still precious. A friend told of raising the water level of their swimming pool to allow the little ducklings to be able to climb out! Jo

realtex85		06-Jul-2009 03:26
We have three that are tending a nest in a pier pole in Trinity Bay on the coast of Texas. Have never seen these before. Thank you so much for a great website that allowed us to identify these beautiful birds.

Susan		04-Jul-2009 14:49
Saw a pair of these outside our home in seguin. Really surprised me as we are not near any bodies of water, but we do keep a low metal tank full of water for our poultry and dogs, so might be more than they can find elsewhere. They were happily cleaning up the grain we put out for our chickens, not a big deal to have a couple more mouths and they are welcome to what they find.

guest		02-Jul-2009 00:27
Several co-workers and myself walk daily around a retention pond in Gainesville, FL and have spotted at least 5-6 pairs of black-bellied Whistling-Ducks. What caught our attention was their bright orange beaks.

Guest		14-Jun-2009 20:54
We observed 2 Black-Bellied Whistling-Ducks at Green Cay Nature Preserve (north of Atlantic Blvd.)in Palm Beach County (Florida) June 14, 2009 Cindy

Guest		07-Jun-2009 01:35
Had a family of these ducks in my pecan trees down in Waggaman, Louisiana since May 2009.

Nancy Pierce		12-May-2009 22:16
We have some black-bellied whistling ducks that nest in our neighborhood in the Rio Grande Valley. Last week we had a family, including parents and 12 ducklings parading across our yard, driveway, and the neighbors' yards for a full block until they reached the alleyway and went down the alley. There are no lakes, ponds, or any other bodies of water in the neighborhood. My son-in-law took some pictures and I have written a children's story inspired by this sight.

Art		12-May-2009 18:04
Saw two of these flying around @ Battleship Texas State Park, La Porte TX. This was yesterday May 11, 2009. Thanks to your web site I was able to indentify them.

Lisa		09-May-2009 14:51
I have three black-bellied whistling ducks on the shore of my backyard on a small lake. May 2009. This is a first sighting for me. SO awesome! I am in Fort Lauderdale.

Andee		31-Aug-2008 03:03
I have 2 adults and 7 ducklings on a very small pond in my backyard. It took me forever to find out what kind of ducks they are. I'm glad to see your fabulous and beautiful pictures of both adults and ducklings, not many sights have the ducklings on them.

Virginia Campbell		03-Aug-2008 23:20
Hi ,,I live in the Ruskin ,/ Riverveiw Fla area. Spotted a small flock of these beuties in chula Vista MHP in Ruskin were my Granpa lives. They were wadeling around in the yard on the edge of the small lake.Some were resting under the shade of the landscape, rthey were just haveing a good ole time. Very casualy strutting along making a beutful whistling, chirpping conversation back and forth. Naturaly I was stumped as to what in the world type of duck rhey were. I could identify it as a duck species, but what kind??????? Went home and looked them up in my Audubon Field Guide and bingo!!!!!! There a fantastic sweetheart of a duck. I went home imediately and showed my husband. We love and have a depp appreciation foe Florida. I get excited every time I get to ID an unfamilar species of anykind

Guest		30-Jul-2008 02:00
We also have Thrashers and they don't come from here. A book said perhaps ther got lost. Well they are building and seem fine along with the Black Bellied ducks. We are so fortunate to have these wonderful anamils here. Port Charlotte, Florida

Kath-		30-Jul-2008 01:57
I live in Punta Gorda Florida and there are here also. Not a lot but enough to enjoy the beauty.

Carol		11-Jul-2008 19:06
We live in Tampa,FL and 3 weeks ago two of these ducks showed up in our back yard we now have 3. We live on a small lake and they seem to be enjoying our backyard. I am not sure where they came from I have been unable to get any information about them in FL. Also I am concnerned where they will go when the weather turns cold here. Your pictures are beautiful.

Bob Topoleski		20-May-2008 14:09
We have a pair of these ducks that visit our backyard every day to feed. We live in San Antonio, Texas.

Karen Moen		16-Nov-2006 23:04
We have a flock of about 22 of these ducks on a creek in San Antonio--not their usual haunt. I had to look them up in a bird book to id them. You have an excellent collection of beautiful images. Voted.

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