Pink Eared Duck Poem by Francis Duggan

Not classified as rare birds though let me hereby say
That on your lakeside walks pink eared ducks you don't see every day
With barred unders and fleshy lobe under front of bill and mostly brown to gray
Quite distinctive from other ducks in their colouring and their way
With a pink patch around either ear which gives rise to their name
Yet in the World of birds it does seem that they are strangers to fame
In log cavities they lay their eggs their nests are hard to find
But then again such can be said of most waterbird kind
I was talking to an old birdwatcher a couple of days ago
Pink eared duck are his favourite birds and of them much he does know
He said after heavy rains in remote shallow lakes they congregate
He has studied them for many years and he has even seen them mate
Birds that are not seen often though not classified as rare
And many with little interest in waterbirds of their existence unaware.