Duck Watching at Shelby Farms Park

This week I was able to get in some birding at Shelby Farms Park for the first time! The park is huge, but I only birded one of the medium sized lakes. It was convenient because it was right next to the playground so I could bird while my brothers played. Shelby Farms is especially good for duck watching, partly because of its many lakes, and partly because every year the Shelby Farms Park Conservancy floods a nearby cotton field every winter for waterfowl. We stopped by the field, but the parking lot was too far away for me to make out more than some Canada Geese and Common Mergansers. Shelby Farms is also the home of the world headquarters of Ducks Unlimited, a duck conservancy company. Most people think it's a duck hunting company, since a lot of people in Memphis go duck hunting right over the river in Arkansas. And it is--only they're more about duck hunting the humane way. :) I myself (humanely) hunted some ducks. Here are some photos:

 Some Mallards. There were a lot of Mallards.

A female mallard. I was surprised how close she let me get to her.

I like this photo. I think the reflection adds a nice effect. :)

Some American wigeons. They weren't as friendly as the Mallards, and I wasn't able to get a good photo. There were about 12 swimming around and mingling with the Mallards.

There were also some Ring-necked Ducks swimming around in the middle of the lake. At first I thought they were Lesser Scaup until I saw the rings on their bills. I think they should have been named Ring-billed Ducks instead. :)

Now here are some photos of the lake and the trails around it:

There were a lot of pine trees around the lake. That's probably why it's called Pine Lake :).

Shelby Farms is a really fun place to go, with running trails and a natural area and a playground. It's also really big, like 3 or 4 hundred acres, I think. It looks like a good place for warblers, flycatchers, and vireos in the springtime, so I'm looking forward to when it warms up again!


~Katydids and Bluebirds