Chuck, the Pacific black duck
Also known as black duck; wild duck
Anas superciliosa
Warg warg warg.
Hello duck lovers. I'm Chuck the duck from Calamvale Creek in Brisbane, Australia.
Most people think ducks say “quack”, but I'd like you to be the first to know that our stiff bills won't let us form the qu sound. What we actually say is “warg warg warg”.
What does warg warg warg mean?
Warg warg warg usually means
“Yeah yeah yeah” when Mrs Duck is talking. But it can
also mean “Get out of the way”, “Let's
eat”, or “Have a nice day”.
In fact it means anything we want it to mean in duck talk.
I should point out that only the men say “warg warg warg”. And we usually say it softly.
The women Pacific black ducks say warg five or six times, and they say it loudly, often when they fly down the creek to chat at the bridge.
Where do I like to hang out?
I could live in almost any type of
pond, dam, pool, mudflat, or wetland. My family are scattered all
over Australia, except for the dry interior.
But personally, I love it at Calamvale Creek. It is just the right size for me, and it provides good shelter, water, food, and friendly neighbours.
What do I eat?
Sometimes people throw me bread,
although there is a sign near Golden Avenue saying not to feed
any of the wildlife here. But most of the time I forage for
seeds, aquatic grass shoots, and sometimes water insects.
Occasionally a group of us wander up to the houses around the creek and look for food in the lawns and gardens. Well, a balanced diet is important, you know.
Where do we build our nests?
Until the photographer busted us, Mrs Duck and I were the only ones who knew where our nest was. It's near where the photo below was taken — I'm trying to distract the photographer so he'll forget what he saw.
Pacific black ducks use a variety of nesting sites. We usually nest in summer at the creek, but ducks further south may breed anytime in the second half of the year.
Mrs Duck likes to lay her eggs in the hollow of a tree, but if competition is strong for the same sites, we may stomp down some tall grasses to make a site, or use old nests of other waterbirds. Mrs Duck may lay 7-11 eggs, and incubates the eggs for 30 days. She has to keep an eye on the little ones when they hatch, because a number of birds around here attack them, and Elwood the eel is also partial to “Creeking Duck” for his dinner.
Dabbling
I am well known for
“dabbling” — this is where I stick my head and
neck under water, and my bottom sticks upright out of the water.
We Pacific black ducks do “dabbling” better than
other types of ducks.
Look at those beautiful straight lines in the photo at right. I'm perfectly balanced, and I can see what's under the water. Hey! what are you staring at Mr Eel! Warg warg warg!
— Chuck the Pacific black duck