Wild Species
Pintails At Speed
With the spring migration underway, I have been out checking on various sloughs to see what waterfowl are maybe resting before continuing on to their northen nesting grounds.
I was more than pleased to see an apundence of Northern Pintails, possibly my favorite duck along with the Wood Duck.
The northern pintail is a medium-sized dabbling duck with a slim profile, long narrow neck and pointed tail.
As seen in my photo, the males have a chocolate brown head, white foreneck, blue-grey bill with black stripe and a long “pin” tail. Wings are grey with an iridescent green patch.
The females are mottled brown and have a blue bill with dark spots or mottling.
Widespread across North America, Europe, and Asia, the Northern Pintail is probably one of the most numerous duck species in the world (although outnumbered by the omnipresent Mallard).
Slim and long-necked, it has an elegant appearance both on the water and in flight. Pintails are wary at all seasons, and become very secretive during the flightless stage of their molt in late summer.
I caught up to these pintails early morning as they left a small body of water formed by melting snow as they headed out to feed.
The pintail can be challenging to photograph in the air, as they are one of the fastest ducks in the sky, capable of hitting speeds of 110 kilometers per hour.
Expand the photo for a closer look.....
