Ducks, fall, winter 2018. I'll try to get photos of this season's ducks, both drake and hen.
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| Common Eider her, Milford Harbor entrance, 12/20/18 |
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| Common Eider her, Milford Harbor entrance, 12/20/18 |
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| Common Eider her, Milford Harbor entrance, 12/20/18 |
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| Common Eider her, Milford Harbor entrance, 12/20/18 |
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| Tufted Duck (upper right), with scaup (probably Lesser), Captain's Cove, 12/17/18 |
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| Tufted Duck, with scaup (probably Lesser), Captain's Cove, 12/17/18 |
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| Redhead pair (drake and hen) with scaup, Captain's Cover, 12.17/18 |
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| Greater Scaup |
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| American Wigeon |
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| Surf Scoter, hen, 2 drake |
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| Common Goldeneye |
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| White-winged Scoter |
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| Greater Scaup |
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| Black Scoter |
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| Hooded Mergansers, drake & hen, Mondo Ponds, 11/30/18 |
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| Hooded Merganser hen, Mondo Ponds, 11/30/18 |
Gadwall drake, Birdseye Boat Ramp, Stratford, 11/27/18
Gadwall drake, Birdseye Boat Ramp, Stratford, 11/27/18
Northern Shoveler, below. A few photos show the unusual spatulate bill: BNA Online says, "Pronounced bill morphology distinguishes this species from other North American waterfowl: elongated bill, widened distally and spatulate with a conspicuous series of comblike lamellae along lateral edge." Or, in the words Cornell,
- The bill of the Northern Shoveler is big (about 2.5 inches long) and shaped like a shovel, but that odd-shaped bill also has about 110 fine projections (called lamellae) along the edges that act like a colander, filtering out tiny crustaceans, seeds, and aquatic invertebrates from the water.
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| Northern Shoveler, Birdseye Boat Ramp. Stratford, 11/29/18 |
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Northern Shoveler, Birdseye Boat Ramp. Stratford, 11/29/18
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| Northern Shoveler, Birdseye Boat Ramp. Stratford, 11/29/18 |
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| Northern Shoveler, Birdseye Boat Ramp. Stratford, 11/29/18 |
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| Northern Shoveler, Birdseye Boat Ramp. Stratford, 11/29/18 |
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| Northern Shoveler, Birdseye Boat Ramp. Stratford, 11/29/18 |
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| Northern Shoveler, Birdseye Boat Ramp. Stratford, 11/29/18 |
