Long-tailed Ducks
Long-tailed Duck (Male, non-breeding plumage)
By: Pat Coate
On a recent trip up to Rochester I made a quick stop at the Charlotte Pier where the Genesee River empties into Lake Ontario. There were two species that I hoped to find – the Snowy Owl that had been reported in the area and a Long-tailed Duck. Didn’t find the Snowy but there were quite a few Long-tailed Ducks – a life bird for me.
They are handsome birds that breed in the Arctic and winter along the northern coasts and on the Great Lakes. A diving duck, this bird spends a lot of time under water and can dive quite deeply, up to 200 feet. The Long-tailed Duck was previously known as Oldsquaw.
Long-tailed Ducks
Long-tailed Duck (Male, non-breeding plumage)
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These ducks have to be one of my favorite species!! Had a few off the coast of Cape Breton this past fall and I sat for hours watching them. They were a little too far out for good photos!! Your images are superb!!
1 March 2012 at 9:55 am
Kaholly – Some day I’m going to have to get to Cape Breton. It looks beautiful and love the diversity of birds and wildlife you have there – especially the moose!
You know who you are – Certain male readers seemed to relate too closely to my photo label ‘male, non-breeding’ so I hope they feel better about the updated labeling.
As always thanks for stopping by, we appreciate your readership.
1 March 2012 at 11:18 pm
I’ve only seen a very few long-tailed ducks, and am STILL having trouble with the name change. I know Oldsquaw wasn’t very PC, but it was way more memorable! Great photo!
4 March 2012 at 9:50 pm