Courting Bufflehead Ducks

by Judi Dressler

Title

Courting Bufflehead Ducks

Artist

Judi Dressler

Medium

Photograph - Photography

Description

In the shade, male Buffleheads look black and white, but in the sun, their rainbow-colored head feathers are so beautiful! On this day, although spring had not yet arrived, these very small drakes were courting the ladies. Here the male is displaying to his sweetie and others in a courting pose, and she seems quite happy with her choice!

Often very energetic in its feeding, this buoyant duck abruptly vanishes and resurfaces as it feeds. Less sociable than most ducks, seen in pairs or small groups, almost never in large flocks, the tiny Bufflehead spends winters bobbing in bays, estuaries, reservoirs, and lakes. Females are a subdued gray-brown with a neat white patch on the cheek. Bufflehead nest in old woodpecker holes, particularly those made by Northern Flickers, in the forests of northern North America. These ducks
take wing easily from the water and fly with rapid wingbeats. The name "Bufflehead" is derived from "buffalo-head," for the male's odd puffy head shape.

Photo taken on February 24, 2019, in Littleton, Colorado.

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Descriptive tags and keywords for this image include buffleheads, bufflehead ducks, couple, pair, ducks, courting, displaying, female, male, small, tiny, water, pond, lake, stream, colorful, bucephala albeola, anatidae, wildlife, wild, birds, nature, photo, photograph, photography, judi dressler and dressler.

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March 18th, 2019

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