It was a day with some occasionally mist cloudy skies but I decided to hit a few birding spots along the lake. The highlight of the day was a pair of Long-tailed Ducks at Lakeshore State Park. They were adult females in their winter plumage. They did some on and off diving for food but there were a few people around and fishing boats that kept them out off of shore most of the time. Bradford Beach to the north had scoters but it was too foggy to make them out when I was there. One female Red-breasted Merganser was one of the only ducks in the lagoon, well there were fisherman everywhere today in boats and on land so that makes sense. A cool day at 45 degrees with cloudy skies and some fog. Images were taken on November 5, 2017.
Long-tailed Duck
Binomial name: Clangula hyemalis
Category: Ducks, Geese, and Swans
Size: 16.5” long, 28” wing span
Weight: 1.6 lb
Cool Fact: This duck was once known as Oldsquaw
Left one going for the dive, the one on the right already in, just a swirl…
One of my favorite ducks! Great photos, Jim.