Lesser Whistling Duck

Driving down to my home town from Mangalore, I saw these Lesser Whistling Ducks in a nearby paddy field. They were wading in the shallow rainwater filled paddy field far off from the main road. I chose my Canon EF 300mm f/2.8L IS USM fitted with Canon EF 2X II Extender on my Canon EOS 1D Mark IV body. As the ground was soggy with rain I was not able to place the mono-pod on the ground. So leaving the mono-pod on the car I tried to hand hold the heavy rig and waded towards these ducks. Despite being shy I was able to get quite a few photos. Despite not using a good support, I was able to get few satisfactory photos due to higher shutter speed I used. At around 5kilo weight, the rig is quite heavy to handhold for very long time. What I usually do is to rest it on my folded elbow till I need to photograph and then lift and get the photo. This gives enough rest for your wrist to cope up with the heavy camera.

Pair of Lesser Whistling Ducks

The Lesser Whistling Duck (Dendrocygna javanica), also known as Indian Whistling Duck, is a small sized whistling duck which breeds in south and south-east Asia. It was called the Lesser Whistling Teal in the past. Called whistling ducks because of their call, they are also sometimes called tree ducks because they are seen often perching on trees near water bodies. Some nest in Tree holes too.

Lesser Whistling Duck

Lesser Whistling Ducks eat aquatic vegetation by dabbling on the water surface in shallow water. Like other waterfowl, they have a highly sensitive, fleshy tongue which has a spiny surface. To efficiently sift for edible titbits, the tongue is worked against rows of horny lamellae that line the mandibles. This produces the typical chattering sound of feeding waterfowl. They also dive frequently for underwater titbits. Lesser Whistling Ducks feed mostly at night, in small family groups.

Pair of Lesser Whistling Ducks

Their call is described as a three-note whistle, the last note highest pitched and prolonged. The call is a wheezy, whistling “seasick, seasick”, call, uttered in flight. Shy and nervous, they fly off at the slightest hint of danger. A flock will fly quickly, and in a direct manner, usually in chevron formation. This duck flies like a goose with its long neck sticking out and drooping below the body, and wings beating rapidly. Lesser Whistling Ducks are different from other ducks in having longer legs, a squarish head and an erect goose-like posture when alert. Their wings are also rounder and broader. Unlike other ducks, males and females look similar, and there is no special breeding plumage.

Pair of Lesser Whistling Ducks

Lesser Whistling Ducks prefer a nest site near freshwater with dense vegetation nearby where their chicks can immediately reach the water after hatching. Usually in a bed of tall reeds, sometimes in a hollow log, or even an abandoned heron’s nest. They build a shallow cup of grass, on or close to the ground. They may rearrange surrounding vegetation to form a roof with a side-entrance. Sometimes they nest in trees. 10-12 creamy white eggs are laid. If the nest is closer to the ground, parents will distract predators by faking a broken wing and moving away from the nest.

Pair of Lesser Whistling Ducks on Paddy field

Potter Wasp Giving Finishing Touches

When I was doing a shootout for the review of Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM I found this potter wasp at my garden building its nest. Unfortunately when i noticed she had built most of the nest and has gathered caterpillar to be served as food for her new born larvae. I was only able to take photos of her closing the beautiful nest. All these photos were taken using Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM on Canon EOS 7D using Canon Speedlite 580EX II with Rayflash adapter.

Potter wasps, also known as mason wasps, are very interesting insects that are named for the way and the form in which they build their hives. They are truly pottery artists and create unique and beautiful pot-like homes for their off-springs. There are many things about the potter wasp that makes them stand out from the rest and here are some interesting facts that you may not know about these unusual insects.

It is the female potter wasps that do all the construction on their homes, rather than the males.Possibly the simplest of the potter wasp constructions is made with mud and has tiny cells between the layers. The female will either gather droplets of water soon after rain fall mixed with her own saliva to make the mud. It is truly an amazing process!

Potter Wasp

Another of the homes that the potter wasp creates is made with mud like the first, but the shape is different. Rather than being a plain round shape, these are round with a thin neck at the top, much like a cork bottle or special vase.

The common potter wasp is primarily black in color, but it also has yellow or red markings on the thorax or abdomen. There are also some interesting tropical species that can have green or blue markings.

Female potter wasps take less than one day to completely build a nest. There are some female potter wasps that will make their nests out of pre-existing holes, but this is not as common as the lady who will start from scratch.

Potter wasps hunt for Beetle larva or caterpillars and paralyze them with their sting. They fly these paralyzed caterpillars to the hive they created. They lay their eggs on these larvae inside nests, one egg in each cell. and then seals off the cells to protect the babies. The sealed caterpillar lives till the eggs hatch and becomes food for the newly hatched wasp baby.

Paralyzed Captive Caterpillar inside The Nest

The potter wasp’s nest is rumored to have been the original inspiration for the Indian pottery that it so strongly resembles.

The diet of potter wasps consists primarily of nectar, spiders, beetle larvae, and young caterpillars.

Some potter wasps build their nests underground, but most have them hanging from a branch or limb above the ground. This is where you can look for one of your own to keep as a decorative piece. Be sure, of course, that it is an empty one or you may have one very angry wasp to deal with!