June Herons

If Ducks Were Mammals...

They'd be rabbits!

Leg Up Monday

Mother's Day - 2007

This mother scovy has adopted some lucky baby mallards.

The First Scovies of 2007!

Fifteen baby scovies have hatched!

Dusk on Laurel's Pond

Nap Time

Blue Heron Looking for Breakfast

Even though the subject was really far away and the lighting didn't cooperate, I still really like this picture.

Green Herons

This green heron is watching over its nest. There are several nesting sites for these birds in Central Park. They seem to prefer to nest in groups and you can usually find several nests close together.

More Laurel

You gotta admit, this is a cute little duck. There was a rainy morning yesterday as Laurel approached me and came unusually close. She started making a sound that was almost like soft chirping. She must have been hoping for a treat.

First Thursday in May Update

A goose got a little too close to this Heron and was told so in no uncertain terms.




Yellow Mallard Hatchlings. The mom is a mallard. Since they are yellow and on the bank of their pond, I would bet the father is one of the Aflacs.

Wednesday Evening Pause

The First Hatchlings of 2007

April is always an exciting time at Central Park, for it is April when the first hatchlings of the season emerge. Usually, scovies are the first ducks to hatch but, as you can see, this scovy is still on her nest. She picked a less than ideal spot for her nest right beside the front entrance of a business. This year, three mallards were the first new ducklings spotted.

The Canada Geese are always early nesters. Here are two of the first goslings of 2007.

A brooding mother protects her goslings under her wings.

The Ducks of Central Park

Welcome to "The Ducks of Central Park" (TDoCP). "Central Park" resides in Fredericksburg, Virginia. Dubbed "the exit of exits" for its more than 200 retail destinations, including 50+ restaurants, Celebrate Virginia's Central Park boasts over 2.2 million sq. ft. of retail space. But, that is just part of the story. Central Park has become a haven for many waterfowl including ducks, geese, herons, and cormorants. The purpose of this site is to share a glimpse into the the waterfowl world of Central Park.

All images (except the CP map) on this site are my property and are copyrighted and licensed under Creative Commons License 3.0. Email theducksofcentralpark at gmail dot com. (Email address must be put in standard format to be usable).

This site is not affiliated with Central Park or Silver Companies in any way.

The Cast of Characters

Central Park (CP) is home to several types of waterfowl and we hope to post pictures of as many as we can. Though there are hundreds of birds that make CP their home, there are several "regulars" that have become some of our favorite characters. My daughter and I have given some of them names and have also grown quite attached to them. Here are a few.

Laurel

This little gal is named "Laurel". Laurel is a small sized khaki campbell duck with a beautiful brown and white plumage making her a really cute little duck. When she was a duckling, she had a sidekick named "Hardy" (pictured to the right). Hardy has since left the pond, but Laurel has hung around to every one's delight. You can't miss her.

When you approach her pond, she lets out a number of loud quacks as she makes her way towards you in anticipation that you may have some duck feed or other goodies.

Aflacs

There are several white campbell ducks living at Central Park. Since they look like the duck in the Aflac Insurance commercials, that is what we call them. In the winter time, they live together in one large group of about nine ducks. However, in the Spring time the males become very competitive and the less dominate males are forced to become loners.

Fonzy

Fonzy is a "khaki campbell". We named him Fonzy because you can always find him with several female ducks. He is also a main target of attack by the male "Aflacs". They won't let him stay within 25 feet of their group. In fact, Laurel has a lot of white feathers and otherwise suspiciously looks a lot like this guy.

Scovies

Central Park has a lot of muscovy ducks. Scovies, despite their menacing appearance and even though females will tenaciously protect their young, are very gentle animals. Scovies can't quack. The females make soft "chirping" noises while the males make a sound that essentially is just the sound of air being forced from their throats. Muscovies are the only domestic ducks that are not derived from mallard stock. They prefer to walk (or waddle) rather than swim or fly. In fact, while several of the females and young males in CP can be seen in flight, some of the larger males refuse to fly at all since they are so large.

These are five baby scovies from the Spring of 2006.

One of the ducklings above is also one of our favorite CP scovies named "Side Panels". He is pictured here all grown up. He got his name due to a bad case of what is apparently "angel wing".

There are several other distinctive scovies that we will be blogging about. General Grievous, Ann Bonnie, Caleco Jack, and "the Greivious Boys" are just a few.

Lots of wild ducks and geese make their home in Central Park, too.

You can also find several Blue Herons, like the big fellow below, on the lookout for a good fishing hole.