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Posts Tagged ‘Aythya americana’

Male Redhead Duck

Posted in Autumn, Birds, Nature, Photography, Portraits, wildlife, Winter, tagged , , , , , , on December 17, 2023| 8 Comments »

I was delighted to spot this stunning male Redhead duck (Aythya americana) on Friday in the waters off of Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. I have seen this species only a few times, so I initially was not able to identify it. However, as I was capturing these shots, I was pretty sure that the duck’s stunning brown head, black-tipped bill, and  distinctive yellow eyes would make it easy to find in my bird identification guide—I was right.

According to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Redheads are exceptionally gregarious and gather in large flocks in the winter, especially in the Gulf of Mexico. On this occasion, however, this Redhead appeared to be by himself.

The Redhead was quite far away, so I had limited options for composing my shots as I walked along the water’s edge. I managed to incorporated some of the environmental elements to come up with a couple of images that I really like—although it may appear that the duck is perched on rocks, I think that they may be portions of a waterlogged tree trunk or stump.

Redhead duck

Redhead duck

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Redhead duck

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged , , , , , , on February 8, 2017| 4 Comments »

As I looked across the pond at a group of ducks, I spotted a flash of red amidst the dark blue heads of the male Ring-necked ducks. Initially I was confused. The only bird that I had previously seen with a red head was a Red-headed woodpecker and I was pretty sure that a woodpecker was not swimming around in the water.

I maneuvered my way around the small pond and was able to capture some images of this odd duck. Imagine my shock when I checked my bird identification guide and learned that this duck is actually called a Redhead duck (Aythya americana). Frequent readers of this blog know that I sometimes complain about the seemingly inappropriate names that have been given to birds and insects, but in this case the name is simple and straightforward and fits.

As far as I can tell this Redhead is alone—I couldn’t spot any other male or female Redheads at the pond. He seems to like hanging out with a group of male Ring-necked ducks who also seem to be bachelors.

I don’t know how long this guy will stay at this location, but I am definitely going back soon to try to get some more shots of this spectacularly handsome Redhead.

Redhead

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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