By Sally Siko

One of the neat things about being a birder in North Carolina is the abundance of different species of birds we’ve got flying around throughout the year.
In addition to our year round and migratory birds, there are a handful of vagrant species which have appeared to have taken up permanent resident status here in the Tarheel State.
Case in point, this Black- bellied Whistling Duck which has been calling Lake Julian (in Arden NC) home for the past few years.
I finally got around to checking out this duck last week and was not disappointed!

The range of Black- bellied Whistling Ducks typically extends from Mexico and Central America south into the interior of South America with a few taking up residence during the winter months in Texas, Florida and Arizona.
In recent times, pairs of Black- bellied Whistling Ducks have even extended their breeding range north into coastal areas of South Carolina and North Carolina.
That being said, how this duck ended up on a random pond in the middle of the Appalachian mountains is anybody’s guess.

With their name sake high pitched ear splitting call, the Black-bellied Whistling Duck, being one among the only two species of whistling ducks in North America, is sometimes nicknamed the ‘squealer duck’ or simply ‘whistling duck’ in the southern United States.
These birds are gorgeous!
The spectacular white markings on its wings (visible while in flight), a bright pink bill, and unusually long legs are some of the distinguishing features of this species.
Isn’t he handsome?

Photos by @sally_siko of @bestlife_birding on my mighty 50MP monster, the @canonusa #5Ds