Tuesday, December 9, 2014

Buffleheads

 Male Bufflehead (Bucephalia albeola)

Buffleheads are very small ducks,  fun to watch because they are almost continuously diving down in one spot and coming up in another looking for tasty tidbits - invertebrates. In the distance adult males appear to be black and white, but up close and in good light you can see the "black" is actually shiny green and purple.

 Female or first-year male Bufflehead

They breed in the boreal forests of northern Canada and are on their way to waters that do not freeze in winter, often shallow salt water. A few will stay here if they can find open water.

Male bufflehead profile view

FYI: If you see a word verification box here, ignore it. It's Blogger and I actually have the verification box turned off.  Your comment should publish without copying the word or number into the box.
I am connecting to Stewart M's Wild Bird Wednesday HERE

51 comments:

BasiaW said...

Dziś komentarz w moim języku: Od dłuższego czasu obserwuję bloga i podziwiam te piękne zdjęcia.Uwielbiam dobrą fotografię, dlatego często u Was bywam. Serdecznie pozdrawiam:-)

The Cranky said...

Isn't he handsome! And flashy, lol.

eileeninmd said...

Pretty shots of the Bufflehead. The male is a beauty! Have a happy day!

DeniseinVA said...

Great shots of this pretty Bufflehead. I saw them for the first time last year. A delightful little bird.

Revrunner said...

One of the greatest all-time names for a bird--bufflehead. :-)

Darla said...

Such a nice tidy looking fellow. I am going to have "Bufflehead" on my mind all day now - never heard the word.

Darla

William Kendall said...

Beautiful shots! I don't think I've seen one before.

Donna said...

A most unusual and beautiful bird....

Bethany Carson said...

I don't think I've ever seen Buffleheads before! Enjoyed your photos!

Viola said...

Awesome ducks! And I can clearly see the green and violet. Impressing pics also! :)

The Furry Gnome said...

Great pictures showing that colour!

TexWisGirl said...

so very pretty!!!

Lowell said...

I would probably have called them "Bubbleheads," as most ducks bobble their heads.

Very nice photos, though! Great colors and what struck me is how slick that water looks - like ice. Beautiful!

Mary Hone said...

Wow, how pretty are they!?

Susan said...

Who the heck comes up with these names for ducks? Weird! BUT, pretty birds!

Linda W. said...

Fantastic reflections!

Adam Jones said...

What a smart looking bird.

Sylvia K said...

What beautiful ducks and, as always, I do love your captures!! I've never seen a Bufflehead before! The little one is SO cute! Thanks as always for sharing! Hope you have a great day/week!!

Ginny Hartzler said...

I have never seen a real one, and they are such pretty little ducks! Your shots are good, and I love the reflection in the first one and the colors in the last one.

Mary Howell Cromer said...

They are sooooo beautiful!

Hilary said...

I've seen them around here in the spring but never realized just how iridescent their head feathers were. Great captures. The ones I've seen are always at a distance.

LindyLouMac said...

Gorgeous captures.

Margaret Birding For Pleasure said...

What wonderful colours in. the male duck

theconstantwalker said...

They really are beautiful to see... lovely images.

RedPat said...

Those are good-looking ducks, EG! And super pics!!

Malyss said...

Lovely little ducks, the second one is especially cute !

sunshine said...

Wonderful birds and photos.

Stephanie said...

Beautiful bird!

Ruth Hiebert said...

You have captured the beauty of that male so well.

Jenn Jilks said...

They are so beautiful! Thanks for sharing them, Tina! I love them. I've never seen these.

NatureFootstep said...

I love the shape of the head of the female. So nice. And the male, of course, gorgeous. A bird on my wishlist :)

Jane Hards Photography said...

New ducks to me, ad very cute they are too.

Lois said...

Cute birds!

Michelle said...

That Bufflehead is a new one for me, but what a beauty.

Anonymous said...

They are lovely.

Indrani said...

Amazing color patterns, very beautiful captures.

Randy said...

The female is so cute.

Unknown said...

I like watching Little shags a New Zealand native) for much the same reason

the one in your 2nd photo looks cute

CountryMouse said...

Wow! I've never seen these before. The male is very handsome with those colours and the female? looks very cute and fluffy.

Anonymous said...

Great name too!

Hootin Anni said...

You managed to get the purple and green iridescence to show up! I was just watching a whole pond full of these the other day. Love their pink feet, don't you?

PerthDailyPhoto said...

Buffle-head... So good :) The colours are amazing EG iridescent! I wonder where they head off to to find warmer waters.

Jeevan said...

Cute little ducks! Interesting to note there color illusion and diving style

George said...

I really like the coloring of this duck. You got some beautiful photos.

Anonymous said...

great photos of the buffleheads

even though you have the word verification turned off, Blogger still want us to fill it in before it published the comment

A Colorful World said...

Gorgeous photos...glad you were able to show the colors. I think the female is adorable!

Unknown said...

Lovely ducks and very nice reflections.

cieldequimper said...

They are real darlings and have such beautiful, shiny colours!

Anonymous said...

Beautiful shots!

Stewart M said...

What a splendid bird - the metallic shine on the features is great.

Cheers - Stewart M - Melbourne

abrianna said...

Beautiful ducks!

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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.