Male Bufflehead ducks (Bucephala albeola) are really easy to identify even from a distance because of the distinctive bonnet-like white patch on their heads. The rest of their heads normally appears to be a solid darkish color, but if the light is coming from the right direction, a very striking purple-green iridescence is revealed.
Yesterday I spotted a couple of male buffleheads at a small suburban pond near where I live. Most of the time the buffleheads stayed in the deep water, as most diving ducks like to do, but occasionally one of them would pop up momentarily a bit closer to the shore. I was thrilled that I managed to capture the beautiful head coloration in a couple of my images, which surprised and delighted me because the day was mostly cloudy and sunlight was mostly lacking.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
Lucky you! I just saw my first one last weekend. You’re right that identification of the males is easy, once you know what you’re looking for.
Most of the time when I see buffleheads, they are a long way off–this was the first time I was close enough to to get a good look at the cool head coloration. “Close,” of course, is a relative term considering that I was shooting with a long telephoto lens. 🙂
They look very cute with their bonnets on their heads 🙂
I love this. Apart from being black and white it bears a resemblance to a Great Crested grebe. Wouldn’t you say?
I had to go search for a description of a Great Crested Grebe, a bird that we don’t have in the US. It looks to be a really cool-looking bird–that crest is amazing–though the shape of its bill and length of its neck seem to distinguish it from most ducks, including the bufflehead.
We have a couple on my local lake and you’re right they are quite distinguishable. I can usually recognise them from a difference by the crest. Very difficult to get a photograph though as they like to swim underwater and just as I’m about to try and capture a shot it goes under.
I can never get enough of the buffleheads; and when they show off their iridescence, I, too, am thrilled, Mike. How great that even though the sun wasn’t helping with the colors, you were able to capture this delightful joy. Fantastic photos.
Getting a decent shot of the male Bufflehead is a challenge. You obtained some very nice photographs, Mike!
Thanks, Wally. I was pretty happy with the shots, but, of course, I’ll be out again trying to get better ones. 🙂
That should have read ‘distance’ not difference. I’m suffering from brain fog today.
No problem. I knew exactly what you meant. 🙂
Wonderful captures, Mike! Such distinct views of his coloring. Interestingly, I was just listening recently to this Bird Note episode which talks about the origins of the name Bufflehead: https://www.birdnote.org/listen/shows/bufflehead-return
I listened to the podcast and was intrigued to learn of all of the interesting nicknames for this cute little duck. Thanks for sharing it.
☺️ BirdNote it’s a great place to learn fascinating a little tidbits about all kinds of birds and related issues.
These are very striking Mike.
Thanks, Chris. It’s amazing how much lighting matters in revealing details in an image. In this case it was cool to see some of the water droplets on the bird in addition to the shimmering colors on the head.
Just saw Linda’s and now yours. As with most wildlife, the male is a beauty of a bird. Nice captures, Mike. I’ve only seen one and didn’t get a chance to photograph it.
Thanks, Steve. Buffleheads congregate in pretty large numbers on the bay at the confluence of the Potomac and Occoquan Rivers, so I am pretty used to seeing them, albeit in the distance.
Duck No. 2 seems to be smiling. 🙂
We get buffleheads here on Clopper Lake in Seneca Creek State Park in the winter. It took me years to ID them with confidence, and in the end I discovered that while a flash of white can mean a bufflehead, it can also mean a hooded merganser. They are always too far away to ID with certainty, and I almost never remember to take my binoculars with me when I go to the park.
Nevertheless, it’s always a thrill to see them,
I don’t carry binoculars with me, but when I zoom my lens out to 60mm it brings things a lot closer. I have gotten so I can distinguish then, in part by the different shapes of the bills and by the whiteness of the male Bufflehead’s body–Hooded Merganser male bodies are brownish in color. With the females, the white flash on the female Bufflehead is pretty distinctive to me.
”In your buffle bonnet, with iridescence upon it, you’ll be the coolest dude in the winter gray pond!”
I laughed a little, Molly, at the notion of a male bonnet. Growing up, I used to see a lot of bonnets on Easter, but very few women wear them these days, it seems.