Elegance!

While out at Esquimalt Lagoon the other day I was pleased to see some Northern Pintail ducks. A fellow birder once described these ducks as "elegant" and I always think of that when I see them. What class! They are definitely the Saville Row of plumage. I didn't have my bird lens with me on Tuesday so I am sharing these photos I took in February 2014.

The Elegant, Dapper Northern Pintail

I can't think of a better photo to start the New Year with than this neatly attired, spotless and immaculately groomed Northern Pintail Duck as seen recently on the clear blue waters of Esquimalt Lagoon. Below is his mate, more demure but equally attractive.

Winter Visitors 4

Birds who spend the winter here don't all come to rest in the Inner Harbour. Esquimalt Lagoon is another favorite wintering site so I went out there on the weekend to see who has arrived. Above is a duck that always impresses me with its elegance and neatness. It always looks as if it just came from the cleaners. This is a male Northern Pintail (Anas acuta). This is not a diving duck like the Mergansers or Buffleheads featured in the last few weeks. This is a dabbling duck, preferring to find its food in shallow water. Mallards and Widgeons are two other examples of dabbling ducks.

Beauty

Birdwatching may seem like an incomprehensible activity to many people and I suspect there are as many reasons why people become birdwatchers as there are different kinds of birds. But for me the main reason for the activity is that birds are often strikingly beautiful and close observation is regularly repaid by glimpses of grace and elegance equivalent to our most treasured works of art. Above is a Northern Pintail Duck preening himself. Since his convoluted posture may make it difficult to comprehend him I have included on the left a photo of the same duck at rest. These photos were taken at Esquimalt Lagoon in late January.

Northern Pintail (Anas acuta)

My visit to Esquimalt Lagoon last week yielded, in addition to Saturday's photo of the Mute Swans, this photo of one of my favorite dabbling ducks, the Northern Pintail (Anas acuta).

Northern Pintail Ducks (Anas acuta)

These very neat looking ducks are Northern Pintails (Anas acuta), newly arrived from the north where they spend their summers. Like our ubiquitous Mallards, they are dabbling ducks, which means they prefer the shallows so they can root around (dabble) on the bottom for the food they like. It also makes them popular with me since they hang out fairly close to the shore unlike diving ducks who prefer deeper water and are consequently more difficult to photograph.

Northern Pintail (Anas acuta)

I appear to have caught some kind of infection so here is a photo from a few weeks ago of a male Northern Pintail (Anas acuta) photographed at Esquimalt Lagoon.

Northern Pintail Duck (Anas acuta)

Since I've been birding a little avidly over the last few months I have not been out to Esquimalt Lagoon where there is an actual bird sanctuary. It's about a twenty minute drive from Victoria. I went out there yesterday and although it was a dank, gray afternoon, I saw several birds I had not seen before, more than enough to make it a rich and memorable day. Above are a pair of Northern Pintail (Anas acuta) Ducks, with the more brightly patterned male in the foreground. There were quite a few of these mixed in with Mallards, Scaup, Wigeons and some other waterfowl and shorebirds whose photos I will share over the next few days.