Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Northern Pintail

My Northern Pintails are  linking up with World Bird Wednesday  and Nature Notes

 It is not often that I have the sun shining in just the right spot, but I think these two Northern Pintails look pretty with the sun shining on them.



The Northern Pintail is known as a dabbling duck and is supposedly declining in numbers. The Pintail ducks can be seen vigorously dabbling for plant food.
The Pintail breeds in Alaska and Canada and they winter in coastal wetlands like at Edwin Forsythe NWR.

A nice reflection of the Northern Pintails.

The adult male has a long elegant and patterned neck and a long tail.  The tail is actually two long black feathers. The female has an unmarked head and a marbled plumage.


We saw a lot of winter ducks at Edwin Forsythe NWR during our two day visit. I am amazed at how many different species of ducks can be seen in the winter. The are the Dabbling ducks, Sea ducks, tree ducks, diving ducks. I am not sure why but my field guide book reports that most ducks are in decline except for the Green-winged Teal and the Gadwall. These last two are ducks I hardly see, my most common duck is the Mallard. I seem to see them everywhere and I see them year round. Are you in an area where you see a lot of ducks, if so what species of duck do you see?



To see more wonderful birds and nature photos check out World Bird Wednesday  and Nature Notes.  Thanks to Springman for hosting World Bird Wednesday and to Michelle for hosting Nature Notes.

I also want to thank you for visiting my post and blog. I appreciate all the lovely comments too. I hope the rest of your week is wonderful.  Happy Birding!!

44 comments:

  1. I am in harford county near Havre de grace.i see mostly mallards a few teal ducks.if I see a wood duck,it is always in flight.--NICE PICS AND i LIKE THE PAGE TEMPLATE.

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  2. We have LOTS of mallards and coots, but that's about all. Up in the Upper Peninsula, we had Mergansers. I guess I never thought about their numbers declining.....
    I know that's not the case with geese!

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  3. I've never heard of Pintails before but can see how why they were so named.They are quite pretty.

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  4. Beautiful ducks Eileen . We generally only have two kinds here. Your photos are super beautiful.

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  5. Beautiful ducks, great shots of them! I visited Sylvan Heights Waterfowl Preserve last year and saw so many wonderful water birds I had never seen before. They were such fun to photograph - thanks for sharing these, and the identification! I may never remember all the names!

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  6. wonderful close shots of the pintails. I have only seen them 2 times before and not so close.

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  7. They are pretty ducks. Love the reflection of the sleeping ducks. We have ducks on our nearby lake but you no me I hardly know one end of a bird from the other. They are pretty ordinary brown looking ducks. You can see some herehttp://diane-adventurebeforedementia.blogspot.com/search?q=Underwood+Park

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  8. Is it that time already???
    Great images Eileen. I love the light in the first two & the reflections in the third are great.
    Have a lovely week.

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  9. the ducks sure are abundant these days!!

    i see them everywhere and never really take notice of them, i'm not sure why as they do interest me!! perhaps because i usually just see mallards and assume that's what they are....i am busy snapping away elsewhere. i must pay more attention!!

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  10. elegant is the correct word for these guys. i've been graced by their presence a time or two here, but not commonly. :)

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  11. Always a joy to come here and see your birds!

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  12. The ducks are very pretty ... your photos are wonderful ..
    Greetings Karin

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  13. those are beautiful ducks!! with or without the sun!!
    they sure are COLD weather birds....
    alaska and canada?!!! i wish they were big enough to haul me there!
    have a great week...birding!!

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  14. Hi Eileen, Stellar photographs! I like Pintails a lot. I have seen them a few times here in TN and always am glad to do so. You really have done a wonderful job of showing the duck in its natural setting up close and detailed. Have a super good rest of the day and a very nice day tomorrow!

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  15. Another good series, Eileen. Boom & Gary of the Vermilon River, Canada.

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  16. A very nice series of photos. I like the one of them asleep on the sand and reflecting in the water.

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  17. Only when the sun shines in just the right spot, the world becomes so beautiful.

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  18. The Pintails are one of my favorite birds to see when they stop at Creamer's Field on their northerly migration in the spring. They are such an elegant looking bird.

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  19. Love how the sun was shining just right and you caught them in that golden light!
    Great reflections as well.
    Hope you're having a great week Eileen!

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  20. The lighting is great on the first two pictures, and I like the reflections in the third one. All of the pictures are nice.

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  21. Such lovely images, Eileen. Wishing you a good rest of the week!

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  22. Great shots of one of my favorite ducks Eileen! Pintails are so elegant but I have found that most duck species are beautiful in their own way. Most have incredible color in their breeding plumage.

    Being in the Pacific Flyway, we get several species at the wildlife refuges in the Central Valley of California. I love the Teals and the Ring-necked Ducks.

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  23. Perfect the way the ducks are spotlighted by the sun. Nice shot!

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  24. Very nice photos of the Pintails!

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  25. The reflections in the third photo are beautiful! Great shots, Eileen!

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  26. Neat post, Eileen. I have never seen the Northern Pintail before.. What gorgeous little ducks. I learn something every time I come to your blog. Thanks!!!
    Hugs,
    Betsy

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  27. Here, we see a lot of Mallards. I don't think that I've seen Northern Pintails before. Beautiful ducks!

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  28. They are so lovely Eileen! I like especially the second picture.
    Hugs:)
    j.

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  29. gorgeous birds! Birds I would love to have a closer look at. I have seen them but always at the far side if you know what I mean.

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  30. So many different ducks! I believe the ones I saw recently were mallards.

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  31. You got some great shots of the northern pintails.

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  32. These are beautiful, lovely golden light.

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  33. Great captures Eileen. The light certainly was in your favour and you showed off those pin-tails to perfection.

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  34. I love the Northern Pintail, the male is so handsome. Beautiful photos.

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  35. Beautiful images. I like the way the white line on the neck makes them look even more graceful (and the neck even looks longer).

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  36. I love your photos of the Northern Pintail, Eileen - they are such handsome birds. Male mallards are beautiful too - it's just that you see them everywhere and you become oblivious to their beauty.

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  37. Perfect lighting- great bird- happiness!

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  38. A handsome and elegant species. Thank you for sharing your view Eileen.

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  39. Interesting...I found a couple of hunting sites with info on them and then another that talks about the loss of their grassland habitat as they nest father away from water.. I would guess they are hunted too? Beautiful birds....Michelle

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  40. One of my absolute favorite duck species to see -- lovely shots!

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  41. I love Pintails, they always look so smart and stylish :)

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