Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Q/ Alphabe-Thursday

Quack! (male long-tailed duck...coming)

Returning from a few days in Upstate New York last Sunday, my husband and I decided to check out the canal between Lake Ontario and Hamilton Harbour (Hamilton, Ontario) to see any ducks that might be wintering there. And there were zillions a lot,  the greatest number of which were long-tailed ducks.

I'm a novice birder and this was the first time I've ever seen them so I was quiet, qcalm, qcool, and qcollected excited.

 Hamilton, Ontario


Quack! (male long-tailed duck...going)

Long-tailed ducks nest in the tundra of the far north but winter in southern climes such as any ice-free waters in and around the Great Lakes. Here they are sporting their winter plumage.

Quack, quack! (male long-tailed duck...coming and going)

Long-tailed ducks are fun to watch as they jump, then dive for snails, crustaceans and mussels. They can stay under water for nearly a minute and dive as deep as 50 metres!

I am linking to Jenny Matlock at Alphabe-Thursday HERE

47 comments:

George said...

This is a new species for me -- it's a very unique-looking duck. Thanks for the great pictures.

Sylvia K said...

Yes, this is a new species for me as well and what a beauty he/she is! Terrific captures as always! Hope your week is going well! Enjoy! Stay warm!

Sylvia

Lowell said...

I love these little ducks! Never seen such before! We have mucky ducks in south Florida and they are really ugly. Here we have Mallards and various other types, but not these long-tailed pretty things.

I can imagine you were calm, cool, and collected! Hah. But you did a great job for being excited!

Re pajamas on a horse. You're silly. We don't put pj's on a horse; just a blanket!

Jan said...

Wonderful photos. These ducks are "new" to me.

RedPat said...

These are fabulous shots! And a new duck to me too. Hope you are inside and warm.

Leeds daily photo said...

Thats serious diving, not that I have any idea how deep the average type of duck dives. Must say, funny looking duck and a new one on me.

Viola said...

So exciting you and your husband have discovered those beautiful birds, I like them a lot! And your photos! :) I'm sure you couldn't stand out beeing quiet and calm, haha.. seeing so many birds in one time!! =)

Charlene N. K. said...

I haven't seen such ducks before. They look lovely. Great captures too!

Becky said...

I've never seen this type of duck before. You got some beautiful shots!

Lola said...

New species for me too - so handsome!

Great 'Q' post too!

XOXO Lola:)

jfb57 said...

Quack quack indeed! Such beauty!

Diane AZ said...

This is my first time seeing long-tailed ducks also. And, I must say they are handsome!

Ann, Chen Jie Xue 陈洁雪 said...

quack quack, this is one duck I have not seen in Borneo and in New Zealand.

Lowell said...

Hi EG - Re your question on Stone Creek: Yes, those are "tufts" of grass...they are planted all over the course and I like them. Unless I hit a ball into them. They eat balls!

Judie said...

Great pictures. They are really beautiful birds. Thanks for the interesting post.

Michelle said...

They are lovely, but the only thing I can think about is how cold it must be.

Rocky Mountain Woman said...

What lovely shots!

They look so peaceful and collected...unlike the photographer!

lol

Mary said...

I've never seen this variety before~ love their feathers!

Jack said...

I'm in the majority today. I have never seen these ducks before, even in photos. I learn something every day. Who said that you can't teach old dogs new tricks?

Lynn said...

Beautiful pics, I haven't seen that particular duck before:@)

Unknown said...

What a beautiful creature. Thanks for sharing!

Honey at 2805 said...

Love the pictures of thes little quackers. Easy to see why you were so excited.

Randy said...

I love the markings on this duck. They are like designer ducks.

Karen said...

I'm not much of a birder but...I love ducks. I have never seen them before either. Great ducks and really excellent photos.

Paulie said...

That is a beautiful bird and you captured it so beautifully!

Unknown said...

What fun looking ducks! I have never heard of this type of duck before. They must love cold weather to hang out in New York this time of year.

Pat said...

What a pretty little duck - such soft colors. They don't get down this far into Wisconsin, at least I have not seen them before. We have a pond by the house and get a wonderful variety - these little fellows would be welcomed anytime.

Wonderful images!

Vintagesouthernlife said...

I haven't seen these before. They are so pretty!

Leif Hagen said...

I've never seen birds like those before your posting!

Kathy said...

These are kind of quacky ~ excuse me, whacky ~ looking ducks, although I must admit they're sorta cute! I must also say that of late your poultry pics are unsurpassed!

T. Becque said...

Wow they almost looks fake, they're so "perfect"!

Anonymous said...

I have not seen these kinds of duck before. Thanks for sharing and I'm happy you found them!

Small City Scenes said...

What fun to see these fun feathered ducks. Here they are called Oldsquaw same species (Clangula hyemalis). Odd guys huh. I'd be excited too to see them. MB

Serline said...

They sure seem to enjoy the lake, very epitome of contentment on their faces;-)

Unknown said...

What a beautiful photos and duck. He looks so happy. Charmaine

Cezar and Léia said...

This little critter is beautiful and very different.I'm impressed by so lovely colours and the white head is cute!
Léia

Francisca said...

Cute coming. Cute going. Double cute coming and going! And if your needlework is anywhere near as skillful and creative as your photography, EG, you're amazing!

Darla said...

The ducks look healthy and happy. They have very pretty markings.

Darla

Unknown said...

What an interesting looking duck! Wow, I have never seen this type of duck before. Definitely a unique looking duck!

Susan Anderson said...

I've never seen such a duck!

It's cool-looking.

=)

Rose said...

These are new birds to me...I am always amazed at the new things I see in blogging. Very seldom a day that I don't see something new...I just wish I could remember it all.

Janie said...

These are beautiful birds, and you got some great photos of them, too.

Johnny Nutcase said...

these are such pretty ducks, glad they let you get some photos of 'em!

Jenny said...

What a beautiful and majestic picture.

I've not seen this variety of duck anymore but I think they are really beautiful.

Thank you for linking.

A+

Personalized Sketches and Sentiments said...

Wow!!! Me too! I've never seen such a Quacker like this before! I love their markings. And haha! Love that you were "quiet, qcalm, qcool, and qcollected" excited!

Blessings & Aloha!

Pondside said...

Those ducks are beautiful.
We get the odd black and white duck here, but they are unusual.

Kim Ercolani said...

Great pictures of the ever-lovely long-tailed duck. There are still a zillion (er, I mean a lot) in Port Credit right through to Etobicoke (April 30, 2011). Welcome to Birding!

Friends who encourage me

Blog Archive

About Me

My photo
East Gwillimbury is a rural town less than an hour north of Toronto, Canada's largest city. My family calls me CameraGirl because I take my camera with me wherever I go.