Tuesday, December 15, 2015

Courting Buffleheads

 Male Bufflehead

Mid December and no ice. Four Bufflehead ducks were swimming amongst  the docks at the yacht club in Whitby Harbour - three males and one female. The males were showing off, trying their best to impress the female.

Female Bufflehead

For most of the time I was hidden behind some dead weeds, standing very still so they didn't notice I was there. Unfortunately the weeds were often between them and me, but every once in a while they  came into my lens's view.

3 males, 1 female

After a few minutes they moved into deeper water. The males appear to be disinterested in the female here...but it's not true. On the right one male is chasing one of the other males away.

I am connecting to Stewart M's Wild Bird Wednesday HERE

35 comments:

Francisco Manuel Carrajola Oliveira said...

Muito belas estas fotografias.
Um abraço e continuação de uma boa semana.

Jo said...

What a beautiful creature that Bufflehead is, Tina. Great captures. Thanks for sharing. Greetings, Jo

Revrunner said...

Hard work. . . courting. :-)

Tom said...

Not good odds!

Anvilcloud said...

Neat for you and us.

PerthDailyPhoto said...

It's a complicated business courting! 'Bufflehead'.. made me smile, sounds more like a term of endearment than a name :)

eileeninmd said...

Hello, the male Bufflehead is a beauty! Great sighting and photos. Happy Tuesday, have a great week!

Halcyon said...

It hasn't been cold here either. I think the plants and animals are confused! :)

Author R. Mac Wheeler said...

They're cute

'Bufflehead'...interesting name

Darla said...

Pretty birds. I kept imagining a picture of you standing still in the weeds though. Someone should have captured that shot, LOL!

Shammickite said...

That lady bufflehead should have been very impressed that three handsome gentlemen were courting her!

TexWisGirl said...

they're so cute!

Anonymous said...

The males are always on the lookout for a nice female - and that is not only the ducks!

Nancy Chan said...

The male Bufflehead is a pretty bird. I wonder which male won her heart.

Jeanne said...

Gorgeous shots of these beautiful birds. Amazing no snow yet!

Mary Hone said...

Those guys are so cute!! Great shots too.

VP said...

Lovely bird!

William Kendall said...

What pretty birds, too!

Linda W. said...

Cute little ducks, and great reflections! The water looks so blue!

John "By Stargoose And Hanglands" said...

It's hard to be dashing and debonair when you're called "Bufflehead" but they seem to be doing their best.

Cloudia said...

They are here [Marin CA] too! I'll do my bufflehead post and link up!




Warm ALOHA,
ComfortSpiral

Les Fous du Cap said...

Pretty near the birds ave ;-)
Céline & Philippe

Neil said...

Beautiful looking Ducks.

MadSnapper said...

the first word that pops in my head is 'darling' i think they are just darling. to cute for words. the second one looks like he is smiling at me

Kenneth Cole Schneider said...

Love the Buffleheads and the dappled waves on blue water.

sunshine said...

Cool and pretty birds.

Silver Parrot said...

Love Buffleheads...they are so cute!

RedPat said...

Fabulous EG!

Rose said...

Always interesting to see waterfowl...I do not know many of them. And for the life of me, cannot seem to retain the ones others show. Maybe it would be easier if I saw them myself...

Ruth Hiebert said...

Watching duck courtship can be fascinating.Glad you were able to get good pictures.

Small Kucing said...

They look like they are forever smiling

Sallie (FullTime-Life) said...

They're actually pretty well behaved for courting ducks! I've seen some X rated behavior from local mallards when we lived on the Lake. Your buffleheads are very handsome duck!

Lea said...

Beautiful!

Rohrerbot said...

That is a really tricky duck to get photos of.....I'm not sure if it's the coloring or not but every time I try, they almost certainly blur! I think the day has to be overcast for a decent pic. Great captures!

Anonymous said...

We've been unusually warm here too. Lovely captures of the birds.

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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.