Tuesday, March 19, 2013

Bufflehead/Wild Bird

Male bufflehead (Bucephala albeola)

Small ducks, buffleheads are visiting Lake Ontario from the north. Isn't the male handsome?

At a distance, bufflehead males appear to be black and white, but up close and under the right conditions you can see the "black" is actually a glossy green/purple.

Female bufflehead

Females are less colourful but - to my eyes - still quite pretty. Both spend their winter days diving for aquatic invertebrates.  Soon they will travel north to breed in northern forests close to lakes, often nesting in former holes created by northern flickers.

Male, a tad miffed

Ahem! Did someone get too close to someone else's female?
I am joining Stewart M's Wild Bird Wednesday HERE

42 comments:

Kerri Farley said...

Love those iridescent feathers!!!

Giga said...

Widać na pierwszym zdjęciu jak pięknie Panu się mienią kolorami pióra. Pozdrawiam.
You can see in the first picture how beautiful you are glitter pen color. Yours.

MadSnapper said...

thanks for the laugh at the last shot and they are beautiful, male and female. what a colorful head.. i even like the silly name of bufflehead

Buttons Thoughts said...

I love coming here not only do I see awesome photos but I learn so much. Love those ones. B

Birdman said...

Nice hair!

Minoru Saito said...

Hi! Very beautiful photos. I enjoyed your series very much.

Anonymous said...

Nice photos of the buffleheads.

Gail Dixon said...

Oh, wow. What a beautiful duck!

Grandma Barb's This and That said...

Love the colors on the male Bufflehead.

TexWisGirl said...

really beautiful! both of them!

John @ Beans and I on the Loose said...

One of my favorites of waterfowl.

jane said...

What cute ducks and I like that name Buffleheads - great pics - Jane UK

Karen said...

Oh great! You captured the iridescence of his head beautifully!

Rebecca said...

Love the last "running" shot! Great photos :)

LONDONLULU said...

From that last shot, perhaps Spring really is in the air! (Birds and bees and all that, haha:) How lovely to see these birds, we don't get them here.

Lowell said...

I've never seen one of these Buffaloheads...er, Buffleheads. Fascinating. And great shots, as usual!

RedPat said...

A handsome guy. I don't think they will be heading north for awhile!

Cheryl @ TFD said...

They are so pretty! Love the last shot!

Ruth Hiebert said...

WOW! You captured the exquisite beauty of the male very well.

Snowcatcher said...

Another interesting background tidbit on wildlife I've not seen before. Thank you. The male truly is elegant. Even when splashing!

Karen said...

Such a beautiful bird is this Male bufflehead, love the shots especially the running one.

Susan Anderson said...

That last one, the action shot, is cool!

=)

mick said...

Beautiful little ducks and the last action photo is a great capture.

Kathy said...

He looks like he's dipped his legs in a can of red paint!

irememberpasta said...

I have spent some time visiting both your blogs. You have a great way of capturing the moment. I think your work is beautiful.

HansHB said...

Nice post for WBW!
Well done!

eileeninmd said...

Lovely your first Bufflehead shot, just beautiful! Thanks for sharing, have a great day!

Jill said...

Ha! You made me laugh. They both are pretty but I love the purple on him!

Pamela Gordon said...

These are great photos. I've never seen them before and the male is very handsome!

Michelle said...

He does look a tad miffed! lol

Randy said...

He's a show-off.

Stephanie said...

Enjoying all your bird shots. These ones are really great!

Ebie said...

Wow! So colorful "heads". I just joined Audubon Society for bird walks!

George said...

I think these are handsome ducks. I really like the caption in your last photo.

George said...

I love your photo of this old barn. I also like your update.

Stewart M said...

Great looking duck. I do like the (different sized) white patches on their heads.

Cheers and thanks for linking to WBW.

Stewart M - Melbourne

Unknown said...

Nice capture of the Buffle sheen!! Boom & Gary of the Vermilon River, Canada.

PerthDailyPhoto said...

I've always thought it seems a wee bit unfair that male birds have more colourful plumage EG :) lovely shots, enjoyed the 'chase off' in the last image..

~Lavender Dreamer~ said...

What beautiful birds! I don't think I've ever seen one of these! WOW!

Neil said...

Beautiful looking ducks.

Rose said...

Oh, my goodness...they are so beautiful. Almost don't look real.

Mary Howell Cromer said...

Oh yes the male is handsome and yet the female is also very lovely!

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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.