45 Long Tailed Duck

• A group of Long Tailed Ducks is called a; Brace / Flush / Paddling / Raft / Team.
• This was one of the hardest birds to photograph.  Every time you though you could get a shot bloop under the water it would go. Of all the ducks this small sea duck has the greatest ratio of below water to above.  It can swim to the depth of 200 feet.  That would blow out my lungs.  when it dives there is no giving an idea where it will return. This was a special shot.
• The Long Tailed duck used to be called the Oldsquaw in North America but with pressure to be politically correct is  now the Long Tailed Duck.
• This duck has the most complex molt with three very different plumage throughout the year.  This one was seen in Digby NS in January. I like to call it "The Master of Disguise".
• They breed along shoreline in the far north using down to line the nest and winter along the coastal regions of North America.
• This duck has a most interesting song; ow ow owal ow...  Yes it is a yodeling duck.  Who knew?
• This is one duck you will never see on the prairie.