22 Feb 2017

Long Tailed Duck

A black and white duck with a long tail

Location: Lake Ontario, off Sherbourne Common
Date photo taken: 21 February 2016

If you find yourself at the shore of Lake Ontario this winter you may see some of these striking black and white ducks. This is a male, identified by the pink spot on his bill and by the long tail feathers for which the ducks are named. Normally they spend their time in the Arctic but they forage for food by diving so when temperatures start to dip and the water to freeze, they move out in search of open water. That takes some of them out to the coasts, but others travel south to winter on the Great Lakes. While their populations are still currently healthy, they were listed as a 'Common Bird in Steep Decline' on the 2014 State of the Birds Report.

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