Male Bufflehead diving
Budd Inlet
Olympia, WA
March 10, 2021
Sometimes I think my job is hard.
Work all day. Stare at the computer. Take photographs. Research. Study. Learn.
It sounds very exhausting. Until I compare myself to a diving duck.
Watch a group of Bufflehead ducks for 5 minutes and one thing becomes clear; these ducks work hard. Diving under water every 30 - 60 seconds for hours on end. They swim great lengths underwater.
I marvel at their skill in diving. Look at the photo above and see how the male Bufflehead is pushing down on the water with its spread tailfeathers. This allows them to lift their head to the proper angle to dive. The duck cuts through the water smoothly with its pointed yet rounded bill. Less than a second and the Bufflehead has gone from swimming to disappeared from view.
The Bufflehead is a common sight in Winter throughout the Puget Sound marine areas and freshwater lakes and ponds. By May, most will have migrated North and inland to breed. They will return again to Western Washington in October or November.
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