Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks nest again in Ohio, producing scads of chicks

 

This rather innocuous-looking place was our destination last Sunday, October 20, 2024, and it's a spot I had been hoping to visit for a few months. Better late than never, and in this case, late was probably better.

Shauna and I packed the gear and drove the hour and a half to Ohio State University's sprawling Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center campus near Wooster, in Wayne County, Ohio. The locale in the photo is perhaps most noteworthy for its string of six little ponds. Parts of two of those are visible in the photo. This is where the latest crop of nesting Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks (Dendrocygna autumnalis) has been hanging out.

This tropical duck was first found nesting in Ohio just a few miles from this spot, in 2022. I wrote about that RIGHT HERE.

While I knew finding and seeing the large "tree ducks" would not be difficult, in this case it was ridiculously easy. We pulled into the site, and before even getting out of the vehicle I heard the squeaky peeping whistles of the whistling-ducks. A glance in the direction of the pond revealed the extended head of an adult, peeking up and over the embankment. It didn't long to walk into a good position and start getting shots of the beautiful fowl. Here, two adults with pink bills bookend three dusky-billed juveniles.

But wait! There were more! It didn't take long to realize that the pack had expanded from the eBird reports I had recently seen, which listed 10 juveniles and two adults. In total, we saw 19 juveniles and six adults. We arrived right around sunrise, and the ducks were still resting on the banks of one of the small ponds, in three discrete pods, each with two adults. It would appear that three pairs of whistling-ducks bred somewhere locally, and then merged the troops here after the young became flighted. As we were leaving, Jethro Raber, an ace local birder who has been keeping tabs on the ducks, told us that the assemblage of this big pack was a recent event, just a day or two prior to our visit if I recall correctly.

As always, you can click the image to enlarge and if you do with the photo above, you'll see the frosty rime on the grass. It was in the low 30's F the prior night, and nighttime temps have been getting consistently frosty. I suspect these Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks will not hang around much longer.

As the sun warmed the earth, and the birds, they began foraging and moving around. We saw them skimming lesser duckweed (Lemna minor) from the pond's surface and plucking at other plants. While they didn't venture far, some short flights were made, and we saw all 25 birds flying and flying well. The juveniles will soon be ready for their southward journey, if they aren't already. A juvenile stretches its long wings in the image above, and shares space with four other young birds. An adult is to the far right.

An adult whistling-duck strikes a pose. It is atop a long linear pile of who knows what. I suspect the material is a mixture of manure and other offal of farming operations, but I really have no idea. There was something in there that pleased the ducks, though, and they avidly rooted about in the stuff. Perhaps corn kernels or other edible plant matter.

Once the ducks became active, they wasted little time in heading to these piles and remained on and around them the rest of the time that we were there. I wonder if this stuff, whatever it may be (and if you know, please leave a comment) is what made them fixate on this particular site.

A juvenile strikes a subservient posture before an adult. It was great fun observing the interactions and dynamics of these charismatic birds. While highly social, there are pecking orders and squabbles to establish them. Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks can be incredibly tame, and these birds weren't exactly shrinking violets. Nonetheless, we maintained a good distance from them which allows for better opportunities to observe natural interactions while avoiding the possibility of spooking/flushing the birds. There's no reason to do that, in this situation especially.

It seems that we are seeing the genesis of a breeding population of Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks develop before our eyes. From one pair three years ago, that produced (if memory serves) four surviving chicks, to the current crop of three apparent broods and 19 chicks. All of the last three year's nestings were within a few miles of each other. It'll be interesting to see if and how the Wayne County population continues its expansion, and if and where other future breeding records occur. I don't know offhand the exact number of Black-bellied Whistling-Duck records in Ohio, but since the first report in 2004, there have probably been a few dozen. It seems likely that other vagrant (if we can still call them that) whistling-ducks will remain to breed elsewhere in the state.

Black-bellied Whistling-Duck nesting update

 

Four of Ohio's now famous Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks loaf along the shoreline of the small pond where the state's first apparently wild nesting record of this species occurred. I visited the Wayne County site yesterday, and all eight juveniles (although there were ten originally) were doing well. Although it was a nippy 30 F, the birds seemed to be fine. For a recap of the nesting record and status of this species in Ohio, GO HERE.

Here are all nine birds - pink-billed adult in front center - seining Lesser Duckweed (Lemna minor) from the pond's surface. They don't call this tiny flowering plant duckweed for nothing, and it seems to be a staple food for this bunch. Unfortunately, the duckweed, which blanketed the pond when the chicks hatched, is quickly disappearing.

A juvenile stretches its wings. There was much stretching and test flaps going on. However, as you can see by looking at the base of this bird's wing, not all of the wing feathers have fully grown in yet. While others have seen some of these juveniles make short test flights across the pond, I suspect they are not yet ready for long sustained flights, thus the reason that they remain in ever colder Ohio. It can take up to 13 weeks for Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks to finish their juvenile molt. In this case, that would be the first or second week of December. But, on the short end of the molt timing, it's about 10 weeks, so hopefully everyone will be ready for the long southward haul before the small pond freezes over.

All nine birds tuck into the vegetation on the pond bank for a siesta. The watchful adult is in the upper left corner. The youngsters are every bit as big as the adult, and all it took was a small one-third acre pond to raise them. Hopefully all continues to go well with them.

There are a few things worthy of pondering in this case. Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks are normally a spring nester, typically April and May. Of course, that's in the core range in North America, which lies far south of Ohio and Wisconsin. But it's interesting to note that the only nesting record further north than this one was of a brood in Wisconsin in 2020. Curiously, the Wisconsin brood was also hatched in mid-September, and was only tended by one bird. Black-bellied Whistling-Duck pairs normally share nesting duties through the duration of parental care of the juveniles. No one has seen a second adult at the Ohio nesting site.

Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks are also cavity nesters, and there doesn't appear to be any suitable cavities near the Wayne County pond that hosts the brood. The Wisconsin nesting site was also unknown. But in a pinch, this species will nest on the ground, and it seems likely that's what happened.

Not to throw a wrench in things, but Black-bellied Whistling-Duck is pretty commonly kept among aviculturists. And there are apparently a fair number of those in this part of Ohio. See THIS POST I made a decade ago and be sure to read the comments. For the record, in the case of the above-sited post, it is my opinion that the Ringed Teal was clearly an escapee, but the Black-bellied Whistling-Duck was more likely a wild vagrant. I'm quite aware that Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks are rapidly expanding their range northward unassisted, and there is a mountain of evidence to prove it. Yet that doesn't mean the species no longer can escape from captivity. In a back recess of my mind, I can't help but to wonder about that possibility in the case of Ohio's decidedly atypical nesting record. We don't have any evidence to prove that, though, and likely never will. However, I guess I would lean towards a wild, unassisted nesting record given the sheer scope of the northward invasion of this species. If the Black-bellied Whistling-Duck continues the course, it stands to reason that there will be more breeding records to come in Ohio and other northern states, and a breeding trend will become established.

Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks nest in Ohio: First record!

UPDATE: As of yesterday, 9/16/2022, all nine ducklings were still present and doing well. I'll try and post any updates on Ohio's first nesting of this species. The young won't be able to fly until about the second week in November, and here's hoping they can fledge and escape to more tropical climes in time. Read on for the whole story...

A Black-bellied Whistling-Duck (Dendrocygna autumnalis) emerges from pondside vegetation with nine chicks in tow. They represent the first documented nesting record in Ohio. This was my first look at the brood early yesterday morning.

On September 8, 2022, word emerged about nesting Black-bellied Whistling Ducks nesting on a small farm pond in Wayne County. The landowner, Henry Miller, noticed the ducks on his pond, and quite understandably did not recognize this largely tropical species. A neighbor, Harry Swartzentruber, made the identification, Joe Rabor got the word out, and the rest is history.

The Miller family kindly made their pond accessible to interested birders, and I visited yesterday. They have gone to some lengths to accommodate visitors at their sheep farm, and their guest log showed that several dozen people had visited as of yesterday.

The Wayne County breeding habitat of Ohio's first nesting Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks. The pond is only one-third of an acre, but lushly vegetated along its banks. The water is covered with Lesser Duckweed (Lemna minor), a native aquatic plant. When I arrived, the adult had the brood deep in vegetation up on one of the banks, but mostly they spent time foraging in the water close to shore.

Map courtesy Birds of the World/Cornell Lab of Ornithology. ASIDE: I've long been a subscriber to Birds of the World, and highly recommend a subscription for any student of birds. The comprehensive monographs of nearly all bird species are a wealth of information and will further anyone's understanding of our avifauna.

As the map shows, Black-bellied Whistling-Duck is very much a tropical bird. For a long time, in the U.S. it was largely a Rio Grande Valley (Texas) specialty. That was the northern limit for the species. In the last two decades, especially, this duck has wandered far to the north in ever increasing numbers. Ohio's first record dates to May 30, 2004, in Hamilton County. I remember that record well, especially as I was secretary of the Ohio Bird Records Committee at the time. That bird didn't stick but it was photographed. The listers needn't have fretted, as the 2004 bird was a precursor of things to come. In the years since, Ohio has had probably a few dozen records, and multiple reports annually in more recent times. This pattern holds true throughout much of the eastern U.S.

Nine chicks arrange themselves neatly around their mom (or dad?). Apparently at first, there were ten chicks, and I have heard reports that a Snapping Turtle (Chelydra serpentina) that makes its home in the pond got one of them. Big snappers are a very real threat to young ducklings. Hopefully it will get no more.

At the time of this photo, I think the chicks are 5-6 days old. Observers should notice fluffy down feathers start to emerge within a few days. They'll quickly lose the cool black stripes. Within the second week they'll go on a growth spurt and should be able to take wing in about 60 days, which would be early in the second week of November. This is very late, though, and north-central Ohio will have experienced some very frosty weather by then. Why they nested so late in the year is a mystery, at least to me, and these whistling-ducks, evolved for far warmer climes, are probably pushing the envelope in terms of survivability with this abnormally later nesting.

The little ones preen, feed, and hang with the parent in the shallows. One little fellow exercises his wing nubbins, flapping them vigorously just as adult ducks often do. Another of the mysteries in this case is the fate of the other parent. Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks co-raise broods, with both male and female taking turns incubating eggs, and caring for the chicks. The juveniles even stay with the parents for several months following fledging. I don't know anyone that has seen two adults together, despite many collective hours of observers watching the birds. Apparently, something happened to it, but the remaining parent seems to be managing well. I do not know what sex it is, as Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks are monomorphic (look the same), and I do not know of any way to distinguish male and female.

The adult whistling-duck broods the chicks - her plumage is afluff, creating a warm blanket and all nine chicks are underneath her. Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks cannot thermoregulate (manage their own body temperature) for their first 10-12 days, so they'll occasionally huddle under an adult. It was a bit cool - 60ish F in this morning.

Another mystery is where the nest site was. Black-bellied Whistling-Duck is a habitual cavity-nester, and I didn't see any likely sites at hand. However, they can ground nest, if need be, and sometimes even use odd sites such as barn lofts. I have heard, thirdhand, that the nest was actually discovered, but don't know any details.

This is an exciting record, and probably the first of more nestings to follow in Ohio and elsewhere in the Midwest. Wisconsin has already had a breeding record, in 2020. It'll be interesting to see how this apparent range expansion plays out in the years to come. For now, we can wish the best for the Wayne County brood and hope the lateness of the season does not cause them issues.

Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks!

A small knot of birders takes a break from oohing and aahing over a trio of very rare birds (for Ohio) in the wetland in the backdrop.

Last Friday, I got a phone call from Larry Richardson, the guy in the foreground with the yellow cap. Larry, who is one of Ohio's ace birders, had just discovered three Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks, Dendrocygna autumnalis, along with Don Keffer (in the red shirt). As good fortune would have it, I was heading to Geauga County the next day to give a talk and lead a walk. Larry and Don had found the ducks at the sprawling Grand River Wildlife Area in Trumbull County, and the site was only about a half-hour from where I was speaking.

So, after the program/hike concluded, I raced over to the ducks and was greeted by Larry soon after arrival.

The 7,500 acre Grand River Wildlife Area is dotted with wetlands. The marsh in this photo is where the whistling-ducks are hanging out. They are actually there, in this photo, but some distance away as you can see. By the way, for any rare bird chasers, they were still there today and may stay for a while. Details are regularly posted on the Ohio Birds Listserv.

 

This photo and the following will win no awards - I didn't even bother imbedding my copyright/name (steal away, photo pirates!). But nonetheless, they are good for at least two lessons. One, bad as they may be - the distance and low light were too much for even my 500 mm lens - they clearly show three Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks.

And two, these photos will be among blizzards of images that have been made, or will be, of these birds. Photographic documentation of rare birds has come a long way in the past decade. I served for seven years as secretary of the Ohio Bird Records Committee, which validates sightings of rare birds. I also served a three-year term before becoming secretary. In that decade span, from 1995 to 2004, I saw the number of photographic submissions begin to spike noticeably. The number of rare birds that are documented photographically is FAR higher now than when I left the committee. Even bad images that clearly show the bird in question make life much easier for rare bird record committees. In the olden days, we often had to try and decide upon records based only on a written description, and often not a very complete or comprehensive one at that.

 

This photo is even worse than the previous. I made it by putting my iPhone up to Larry's scope and snapping the shutter. Still, it demonstrates the absolute ubiquity of cameras. Nearly everyone has a phone with camera these days, and even those can be used to gather documentary photos. Rare is the rare bird that goes un-photographed in this day and age, giving us much more solid evidence in regards to rare avifauna.

There have been only four records of truly wild Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks in Ohio, counting these (which I would have no reason to believe are anything but wild). Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks are commonly kept in captivity; read about one that was later definitively proven to be an escapee RIGHT HERE.

Larry Richardson, remarkably, has found two of Ohio's records of this species. Read about his previous whistling-duck discovery HERE. Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks range throughout much of South America and Central America, and in the United State occur regularly in the southern Gulf States and parts of Arizona. This is a duck on the move, however, and it is actively expanding its breeding range northward. As the population swells, so have the extralimital records. All of Ohio's have come within the last decade. I think we can expect to see even more of these gorgeous ducks in the future.

Congratulations to Larry and Don for an excellent find, and for so quickly sharing the news with the birding community.