Buffleheads

Here are some more winter ducks that you shouldn't expect to see when things warm up: Buffleheads. They're not around my area in big numbers, and most of my pictures were taken in the fall of 2020. They're small ducks [1] that are mostly black and white, so at a distance they probably blend in inconspicuously with Ring-necked Ducks and Hooded Mergansers, though their closest relatives in this area is the Common Goldeneye.

The females have black heads and back with a white patch around their cheeks. A male without its breeding plumage looks similar, though the white patch is a bit larger. A male in breeding plumage though has that white patch expanding to cover pretty much all of the back of the head.

These are considered one of our most monogamous ducks, so barring a death there's a pretty good chance these 2 were a couple.

February 17, 2020 at Washington Valley Park
Photo 66501906, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)

[1] The only native duck that's usually smaller is the Green-winged Teal.


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