Tag Archives: mallard duck

In Search of a Mandarin Duck

Late Saturday afternoon, we walked around Leverett Pond in Boston’s Olmsted Park, in search of a mandarin duck. I had heard this duck was on the loose from The Rambling Brambling.

Mallards abounded in the area; we saw 140 of them. Three male ring-necked ducks swam past us in a line.

Ring-necked duck
Ring-necked duck

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Mount Auburn Cemetery: Turkeys and Vireos

We took a walk through Mount Auburn Cemetery Thursday morning. We would go long stretches without hearing any birds and then, suddenly, we’d be in the midst of a birdstorm. One of the easiest birds to find was this wild turkey, whose gobble we could hear at a distance.

Head of male wild turkey
Male wild turkey

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Giant Black Beetles at Jamaica Pond

We came across two large black beetles yesterday just off the path around Jamaica Pond. The beetles were possibly engaged in the act of mating. If so, the female beetle was much larger than the male and her orange belly was showing.

Pair of broad-necked root borer beetles
Pair of broad-necked root borer beetles

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A Walk through Olmsted Park

I took a walk through Olmsted Park yesterday, a piece of the Emerald Necklace within Jamaica Plain. I saw a mother mallard duck with a dozen ducklings in tow.

A mother mallard duck with some of her dozen ducklings
A mother mallard duck with some of her dozen ducklings

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Blizzard Birding at Jamaica Pond

A few hours after Boston got hit with two feet of snow, I went to Jamaica Pond to see how the birds were doing. While big chunks of the Pond were frozen, there was a large central area free of ice. All the water fowl had congregated near the northwestern shore. I saw Canada geese (Branta canadensis), American coots (Fulica americana), mallards (Anas platyrhynchos), mute swans (Cygnus olor), ring-billed gulls (Larus delawarensis), and, surprisingly, a pair of pigeons (Columba livia).

Birds on Jamaica Pond after a blizzard
Congregating birds on Jamaica Pond

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