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:

  1. 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:-)

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  2. Isn't he handsome! And flashy, lol.

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

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

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

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

    Darla

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

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  8. A most unusual and beautiful bird....

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

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

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  11. 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!

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

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  13. 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!!

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  14. 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.

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  15. 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.

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

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

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  18. Lovely little ducks, the second one is especially cute !

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  19. You have captured the beauty of that male so well.

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

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

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

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

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  24. Amazing color patterns, very beautiful captures.

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

    the one in your 2nd photo looks cute

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

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  27. 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?

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

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

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

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  31. 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

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

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  33. Lovely ducks and very nice reflections.

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

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

    Cheers - Stewart M - Melbourne

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