Outdoor Ontario

Birding Reports => Toronto Reports => Topic started by: jennie on January 14, 2007, 12:14:15 PM

Title: bufflehead duckling on grenadier pond
Post by: jennie on January 14, 2007, 12:14:15 PM

Hi there,
I was out for my morning run last Sunday and I spotted a Bufflehead duckling near the shore on Grenadier pond.  I thought that this was unusual for this time of year, perhaps a result of the mild climate?  Any thoughts?

Title: Bufflehead duckling/ female
Post by: Julie on January 15, 2007, 05:47:46 PM

hi

We were at Grenadier Pond this weekend and saw a female bufflehead close in to shore-- they are very small birds and this isn't always obvious til you see them in relation to something else-- mallards in this case. Females are dark and chestnut, with a subtle whiteish patch behind the eye. Their colouring is nothing like the adult male's bold white and black/ iridescent purple.

We also saw what looked to be two young buffleheads about a quarter of the way to adult male breeding plumage but they were too far out for a good view.

Anyway,  highly unlikely that it would be a hatchling though I am happy to be proved wrong-- well not really given that babies in January would be a scary indication of how weird our weather has become.

Julie