Tuesday, February 5, 2013

Bevy of Ducks/Wild Bird

Male redhead (Aythya americana)

Friday was a blustery cold day (see yesterday's post) and several varieties of ducks swam and fished together on the lee side of the pier at Bond Head on Lake Ontario.  I was excited because this was the first time I had gotten this close to redhead.

 Male greater scaup (Athya marila)and female longtail

In the same group were common scaups and longtails. I was amazed to see how well the ducks seemed to get along together.

Female greater scaup and (plop!) a common goldeneye (Bucephala clangula)

Here you can see that a goldeneye dived in just as I pushed down on the shutter button.

Male common goldeneye

 But he came up again! Isn't he handsome?

White-winged scoter (Melanitta fusca)

But the most exciting duck to come along was this male white-winged scoter (also known as the velvet scoter).  They are not very common here. He's not likely to win a contest for good looks, is he?
I am joining Stewart M's Wild Bird Wednesday HERE

44 comments:

Giga said...

Śliczne zdjęcia zrobiłaś kaczkom, a szczególnie pierwsze jest wspaniałe. Pozdrawiam.
Cute photos of ducks did, especially the first is great. Yours.

Kate said...

I don't think I would enjoy swimming in that cold water as much as they appear to be doing!

The Cranky said...

I have to say I'm with Kate on this; a potential Polar Bear clubber I will never be.

Halcyon said...

I love their shiny heads! :)

MadSnapper said...

i like the different colors of the heads, i have not seen red before..

Darla said...

The handsome make Golden Eye looks like he has on a bird tuxedo.

Darla

Judy said...

I'm always amazed at how ducks can stand that cold water.

Anonymous said...

I'm very impressed with your knowledge of the various varietys, all beautiful looking birds.

Judy said...

They look so happy! We have a large flock of Golden Eye Ducks that winter over in the pond by our house. They show up in December and leave in March.

Larry said...

A great assortment of duck CG! They always seem to be enjoying themselves don't they? Beautiful shot of the Redhead, I always feel lucky when I come upon one of them. But the White-winged Scoter is a real find! Of course the Common Goldeneye is a dapper looking fellow, as are the Barrow's Goldeneyes.

TexWisGirl said...

the scoter is so cool! i would LOVE to see a redhead! my favorite wooden decoy carving is a redhead.

i stora drag said...

Lovely photos of the different ducks swimming! Some of these I have never seen before. It's nice to watch them swim and dive.
Greetings Pia

Unknown said...

Great series of Ducks!! Boom & Gary of the Vermilon River, Canada.

Suburban Girl said...

Golden Eye...A James Bond duck? ;)

Buttons Thoughts said...

Love the Golden eye and the Scoter oh what am I saying I LOVE them all. Great shots. B

Gail Dixon said...

The common goldeneye is gorgeous! That last one is...er...interesting. smiles. Love them all!

Ruth Hiebert said...

These are wonderful pictures. The Scoter may not win a beauty contest,but sure would be a good one to add to my life list.

Karen said...

Terrific ducks EG!! I might have to wander towards Lake Ontario when the weather gets warmer.

LONDONLULU said...

He may not win good looks contests, but he sure stands out from the crowd - so unique! Lovely ducks all lined up:)

Carletta said...

A lovely plethora of duckies!
My fave is the goldeneye, and who doesn't love a redhead! ;)

Findlay Wilde said...

Amazing water fowl, I've not seen seen a Scaup yet. From Findlay

HansHB said...

Great serie of photos!
Lovely ducks!

Lowell said...

You should be very proud of these photos. They are extraordinary and a glimpse into an avian world that most of us will never see - what a wonderful set of photos!

I don't know if you've ever seen Chris' website but I think you would find it most interesting. Check it out here:

http://chrisphotonature.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&layout=blog&id=2&Itemid=6

mick said...

An interesting series with great views of the different ducks.

Cheryl @ TFD said...

Wow! Beautiful shots!

Kay said...

These are wonderful shots, all the more so when I imagine how cold it was. And they remind me that the warmth of a down jacket sometimes comes from duck down. . .

RedPat said...

What a great day you had!

eileeninmd said...

Wonderful collection of ducks! I love the Goldeneyes and the Redhead!

kayerj said...

pretty little ducks.

Andrea @ From The Sol said...

The different varieties of duck migrate together here and they seem to get along fine until mating season, then all bets are off. Our lake is frozen so the ducks here are gone except one. I don't know why he is still here, if he was sick or injured or if his mate was and he stayed with her, but he is here all by himself. He comes daily to where I have food for the ground feeders so I have started putting out duck food for him. I hope he makes it through the winter ... he seems pretty hardy. Fingers crossed :) Great pictures ...

Andrea @ From The Sol

Wally Jones said...

This is a really nice series! It must be cold because even the ducks seem to be shivering!
What a nice variety!

George said...

I think it's pretty neat to have this wide variety of species in the same general area. You got some neat pictures.

Shammickite said...

Nice to see there's some open water for them./

Randy said...

Cute little swimmers you caught there.

Everything Changes said...

Lovely!

Rose said...

What a variety...and such good shots. Most of the time, I can't get within a hundred yards of the ducks out at the strip pits...and they are in flight by then.

Cezar and Léia said...

They are gorgeous critters, I love the close up of the male common goldeneye.
hugs
Léia

Stewart M said...

Great set of ducks.

We have a duck called the Hard Head which is very similar to the redhead.

Cheers and thanks for linking to WBW

Stewart M - Melbourne

Anonymous said...

Such beautiful ducks! Love the Goldeneye.

Amanda said...

The redhead reminded me of the hardhead too. The last one is a bit odd looking. Interesting post.

Amanda said...

The redhead reminded me of the hardhead too. The last one is a bit odd looking. Interesting post.

Neil said...

Beautiful Ducks you have.

Snowcatcher said...

Gosh, you make me want to go out and walk our river in search of waterfowl! Maybe this weekend...

Susan Anderson said...

Why are ducks so appealing? They can be tough customers!

=)

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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.