Tag Archives: ring necked duck

Birding Trips and Tours North Carolina

Spending time with Ring-necked Ducks in Wilmington NC

By Sally Siko

One of my favorite wintertime species to see year after year is the Ring-necked Duck.
I photographed this one last week paddling around a small pond at a High School in Wilmington, N.C.
It was neat to watch him and his companions swimming, diving, quacking and flapping as they strutted their stuff on the open water.
As seen here, the adult males have a glossy purple, blue and green-ish colored black head, a black back, with well-defined gray sides and a white stripe of plumage between the sides and the breast.
Their bills are a light gray with a white ring and a black tip.
Their namesake cinnamon-colored neck ring is usually not visible but occasionally you can see it if they have their next stretched out, and lighting is just right! 
Check out the photo below in this post to see that sneaky ring for yourself 😉



These good looking birds breed in small areas of Alaska, across central and eastern Canada, south throughout the northern United States and into northern California and Colorado.
They spend the winter along the Pacific and Atlantic Coasts and and across the southern U.S. all the way down south into Mexico, Central America, and even the the Caribbean.

Lucky for us, Ring-neck’s are among North Carolina’s most commonly found diving ducks during the winter months from the mountains to the coast.


You can see Ring-necked Ducks here from mid to late October to late March and early April throughout the state.
Look for them foraging for a meal in large ponds and wide lakes, with forested shorelines.
Interestingly, they usually forgo inhabiting the deeper middle portions of large lakes and open waters, preferring to find a meal much closer to the shoreline.
This makes them a bit easier to see (and photograph) than other species of other diving ducks, something I am immensely grateful for!

By the way, I’ve added over 80 new groupbirding tour dates to my trip schedule. If you’d like to join me out there, check out the link in bio for booking information 🙂

Photos by Sally Siko of @bestlife_birding captured on my mighty mirrorless monster, the @canonusa #R5

Field Notes, Out There with the Expert

A closer look at a Ring necked Duck at Pungo Lake

This is a gorgeous bird with a somewhat confusing name, the Ring-necked Duck!


I photographed this one last week at Pungo Lake in eastern N.C.
The adult male has a glossy purple, blue and green-ish colored black head, a black back, with well-defined gray sides and a white stripe of plumage between the sides and the breast.
Their bills are a light gray with a white ring and a black tip.
Their namesake cinnamon-colored neck ring is usually not visible but occasionally you can see it if the lighting is just right!
Check out the photo below to see that sneaky ring for yourself 😉



These good looking birds breed in small areas of Alaska, across central and eastern Canada, south throughout the northern United States and into northern California and Colorado.
They spend the winter along the Pacific and Atlantic Coasts and and across the southern U.S. all the way down south into Mexico, Central America, and even the the Caribbean.

Lucky for us, Ring-neck’s are among North Carolina’s most commonly found diving ducks during the winter months from the mountains to the coast.
You can see Ring-necked Ducks here from mid to late October to late March and early April throughout the state.

Look for them foraging for a meal in large ponds and wide lakes, with forested shorelines.
Interestingly, they usually forgo inhabiting the deeper middle portions of large lakes and open waters, preferring to find a meal much closer to the shoreline.
This makes them a bit easier to see and photograph than other species of other diving ducks, something I am immensely grateful for!

Photos by @sally_siko of @birdwatching_nc on the fabulous full frame @canonusa
#5Ds

Field Notes, Out There with the Expert, The Adventures of your bird watching Admin

Yates Mill Park Birdwatching : Ring necked ducks

By: Sally Siko- Admin Birdwatching NC

So happy to catch these shots of a pair of Ring necked Ducks a few days ago at Yates Mill Park in Raleigh.


I spied them near the shoreline through the trees as I was walking along the path near the visitors center. Unfortunately, as soon as the ducks spotted me, they took off paddling at full speed.
Not wanting to miss the shot, I took off at full speed down the trail to try and at least get a photo or two from the mill dock before the ducks swam out too far away.
Lol, I bet it was a sight to see. Me running like a lunatic, camera bouncing off of my side after a couple of ducks 😉
Happily I managed to grab a couple pics before they moved on.



Ring-necked Ducks are proficient divers which sometimes go to great depths to obtain food. They’ve got a compact build with legs that are positioned further toward the back of their body which enhances their diving ability.
This is in contrast to the more center-balanced leg placement of most puddle duck species which dive less, yet walk on land more frequently.
Oh and about their name…
Seriously what is up with this?
There is chestnut colored ring around the male’s neck (or so they say, haha!) which is barely discernible, even in the best of lighting conditions.
Surely we can do better. With those iridescentpurple heads and tri-colored bills, they’ve got some visually striking features in addition to their unusual leg placement.
So, does anyone out there have a better name idea for these handsome ducks?


Photos by @sally_siko of @birdwatching_nc
Canon 5Ds

Come birding with me! I’ve got a few tours scheduled for Yates Mill Park in 2020. Check out the link below for trip details and available dates.

https://birdwatchingnc.com/birdwatching-n-c-trips-birding-in-north-carolina/birding-at-yates-mill-park-trips/