The Ducks and Waterfowl of White Rock Lake

If you’re an avid birder or simply enjoy watching ducks, then Sunset Bay at White Rock Lake in east Dallas is the place to be. This sheltered little bay is officially classified as a wetland, and harbors a multitude of colorful ducks and other water fowl. In fact, 175 birds have been identified in or near Sunset Bay so if you love bird watching, you can never go wrong visiting Sunset Bay.


Frequent visitors to White Rock Lake will know some of the birds by sight. These birds have characters all of their own, and one can even predict how they will react to a given situation. Many of the ducks come onshore to feed in the late afternoon. The image below shows an assortment of Mallards, Coots and a stunning Wood Duck in the bottom right corner.

Ducks feeding onshore at Sunset Bay in the late afternoon

This Muscovy Duck has beautiful plumage

Two male Mallard Ducks swimming alongside the pier in Sunset Bay

A female Mallard Duck foraging for food at Sunset Bay

The Brown Chinese Goose below has the fattest belly imaginable, and it almost drags on the ground. From the look on the face of this goose, it does not like its picture taken.

Brown Chinese Goose

Many of the ducks at White Rock Lake have stunning plumage, including the one below.

Dunking Duck at Sunset Bay

This pair of Mallards were on the east shore of the lake

There are droves of American Coots at White Rock Lake. These noisy birds with enormous feet - look at the bird's feet below - are often seen feeding onshore all along the lake.

American Coots on a log, reflecting on life

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This Snow Goose, nicknamed the Lone Ranger, has been visiting White Rock Lake for quite some time. It's always alone and is often seen walking along the shore, pecking at food. Snow Geese breed in the Arctic Tundra, so visitors to the lake should consider themselves fortunate to have this straggler visit for so long.

Snow Goose, the Lone Ranger, patrolling the lake shore

There is also a Blue Goose resident at White Rock. These darker birds were considered a separate species, but are now believed to be a dark form (a morph) of the Snow Goose. The Blue Goose below was seen eating on shore at Sunset Bay. You will notice from the image that the goose is wearing two bands (rings). He was banded in Manitoba, Canada in 2003. He injured a wing when he became entangled with some fishing line at White Rock Lake and is now unfortunately unable to fly. 


As opposed to the the Lone Ranger, this Blue Goose has totally integrated with the other geese, and gets along well with his distant cousins.

A Blue Goose at Sunset Bay, White Rock Lake

This duck was taking a mid-afternoon nap

White Rock Lake is located in east Dallas, Texas.

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