Departing Ducks

 

Red-breasted Merganser pair

Their extravagance is my thought, not theirs. Certainly it's not a choice. The fancy plumage and courtship behavior, the enormity of migration, are written into every duck's genetic code.

Long-tailed Duck and two Harlequin males

Over the winter season the drakes of many duck species have become adorned with spectacular mating plumage.

Harlequin Duck pair

The courtship activity of Harlequin Ducks often features short dashes by the male toward a flighty female.

Buffleheads, a drake and three hens

This male Bufflehead appears to be well situated as spring ardor unfolds.

Bufflehead female dashing at the male

Inexplicably to an observer, one of the females charges the male. Whether her flurry signals affection, consternation, or some other impulse is understood only in the realm where it matters.

Common Loon, Folly Cove

This male loon's plumage has sharpened into the classic pattern seen in summer on inland lakes. 

Loon pair, female (l) and male (r)

A bit of seductive yodeling has brought the pair together for an intricate display of water ballet.

Horned Grebe

After a shoreline winter in very subdued plumage this male Horned Grebe is properly attired for a lakeside rendezvous at its breeding destination in western Canada or Alaska.