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75 images of Buffleheads and Pintails, Widgeons, Cinnamon Teals,
Green-Winged Teals and other ducks, along with portraits and hunting
dive shots of Brown Pelicans in non-breeding and breeding plumage.
Most of these images were taken at Bolsa Chica and Newport Back Bay,
but a few shots which were taken at other venues were added for context.
Click an image to open a larger version.
Use your back button to return to this page.
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Images in this section are in a number of different Galleries on the Photoshelter website.
The Banner below leads to the Wildlife Collections page where a Gallery can be selected.
Images can be found in the following Collections (Direct Links)
Birds Collections: Ducks Pelicans
Mandarins & Wood Ducks Assorted Ducks
Pintails, Teals & Ruddy Ducks Brown Pelican
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Bufflehead 4068
A male Bufflehead meanders across a subsidiary canal at Bolsa Chica.
The Bufflehead is a small, diving sea duck that prefers coastal waters and
open inland waters. They breed in small wooded lakes and ponds in boreal
forests and taiga habitats of Alaska and Canada. They evolved their small
size to allow them to nest in abandoned cavities of the Flicker in aspens
and poplars near the water. They compete with small birds for nests.
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Buffleheads 4078
Male Buffleheads at Bolsa Chica. The male has a white patch at the back of the head, and
the rest of the head is dark, with a strikingly iridescent purple and green sheen to the feathers.
They dive for prey and eat mostly insect larvae and invertebrates, mollusks and crustaceans.
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Buffleheads 3362
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Buffleheads 3356
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Male and female Buffleheads on a canal at the Bolsa Chica wetlands.
The female is drab overall, with a dark head and a white patch on the cheek.
Buffleheads 3352
A male and female Bufflehead, checking out the photographer at Bolsa Chica wetlands.
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Buffleheads 3366
A female Bufflehead preens as she swims behind her male in a canal at Bolsa Chica.
Buffleheads and Green-Winged Teals (shown below) are the smallest American ducks.
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Bufflehead 9005
A head-on shot of a male Bufflehead taken at the Reifel Bird Sanctuary in British Columbia.
This image taken in flat light on a dark, overcast day allows the viewer to see the greenish
face and the purple iridescence on the top of the head of this interestingly colored duck.
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Images in this section are in a number of different Galleries on the Photoshelter website.
The Banner below leads to the Wildlife Collections page where a Gallery can be selected.
Images can be found in the following Collections (Direct Links)
Birds Collections: Ducks Pelicans
Mandarins & Wood Ducks Assorted Ducks
Pintails, Teals & Ruddy Ducks Brown Pelican
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Mandarin Duck HS2267
Speaking as we were of interestingly colored ducks, here is my absolute favorite duck.
Closely related to the Wood Duck, the Mandarin has a red bill, an iridescent purple-green
forehead and head stripe tapering to a ruddy-maroon at the read of the head, a gradient
crescent above the eye, and ‘whiskers’ extending from the cheeks below the eye. The
crest at the back of the head is greenish and purple, with white streaks. The back is
patterned in iridescent blue, green and reddish-brown. Flanks are buff and blue,
and at the rear are two russet-orange wingtips that the bird raises as ‘sails”.
The chest and the tail are an iridescent purple-green with white borders.
An altogether unforgettable, brilliantly colored and unmistakable bird.
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Mandarin Duck X7801
The Mandarin Duck is a perching duck, so-called based upon its tendency to perch high in trees.
Native to eastern Asia, there are several isolated populations of Mandarin Ducks in the USA which
originated when captive birds escaped into the wild. They sometimes interbreed with Wood Ducks,
as the female Wood Duck is very similar to the female Mandarin (as shown in the images below).
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Mandarin Male Wood Duck Female X7893
A Mandarin male and a Wood Duck female. Note the female’s broad eye stripe and white bill border.
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Wood Duck Male Mandarin Female 4420
As you know, all is fair in love and war... here is a Wood Duck male with a Mandarin female.
The female has a narrower eye stripe, a white stripe only at the side of the bill and a lighter bill.
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Wood Duck Non-Breeding Male HS5911
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Wood Duck Juvenile Breeding Male HS5873
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The Wood Duck male goes through interesting color changes in breeding season.
At left is a non-breeding male, and at right is a juvenile molting into breeding plumage.
Wood Duck 4436
The male Wood Duck in breeding plumage displays a colorful panoply.
An iridescent green crested helmet with purple accents and white stripes is
atop a white collar and neck band. The speckled burgundy-to-chestnut breast
fades to a brown shoulder and back. The wings are buff with iridescent blue tips
over a burgundy rump and brownish tail feathers. It is an impressive display.
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Images in this section are in a number of different Galleries on the Photoshelter website.
The Banner below leads to the Wildlife Collections page where a Gallery can be selected.
Images can be found in the following Collections (Direct Links)
Birds Collections: Ducks Pelicans
Mandarins & Wood Ducks Assorted Ducks
Pintails, Teals & Ruddy Ducks Brown Pelican
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Lesser Scaup X0124
A female Lesser Scaup patrols the Main Canal at the Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve.
The Lesser Scaup is a small diving duck, a few inches larger than the Bufflehead.
They have a blue bill with a nail on the end. Males are similar to Ring-Necked Ducks
except the Ring-Necked male has a white stripe across the bill and a white border
at the base of the bill (Ring-Necked males are shown in the image directly below).
Lesser Scaups are a few inches smaller than Greater Scaups and 20% lighter,
but they are otherwise somewhat difficult to distinguish from each other. Both
Scaups dive and sift through the mud at the bottom for mollusks and clams.
The Lesser Scaup has the largest population of all diving ducks, but they
have been in rapid decline over the last 30 years for unknown reasons.
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Ring-Necked Ducks X7960
Male Ring-Necked Ducks at Franklin Canyon (note the cross-eyed duck at right, shaking his bill).
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Pintail X8319
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Pintail X8320
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Another of my favorite ducks, the Pintail (or Northern Pintail) is a large dabbling duck with a
chocolate brown head, white neck stripes, and a long pointed central tail feather from which
the duck gets its name. They are strong travelers, and individuals can often cross the ocean.
Pintails are long and slender ducks, with long wings and a fast flight characteristic that has
given them the nickname “greyhound of the air”. They dabble and upend to feed on plants.
Pintail 8982
A Northern Pintail taken on an overcast day at Reifel Bird Sanctuary in British Columbia
shows the distinctive highly reflective bluish-black bill and the mottled plumage of the wings.
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Pintail Female X3388
A female Pintail at sunset, taken at the Bosque del Apache Wildlife Refuge in New Mexico.
The female is a mottled lighter brown color and the pointed tail is much shorter than the male.
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Widgeon 1046
Another interesting-looking duck is the American Widgeon. They are smaller than the Pintail,
but larger than the Teals (shown below). The male has a bluish bill with a black tip, a cream mask
on the head, face and cheeks, and an iridescent green patch from the eye to the back of the head.
They have reddish-brown breast, side and shoulder feathers, a dark brown rump and tail, and wing
feathers are outlined in white. The white shoulder patch is prominent when the wings are extended.
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Widgeon 5687
The Widgeon is a dabbling duck and grazes on plants.
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Sleepy Widgeon 5680
Widgeons prefer shallow freshwater wetlands and ponds.
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These three shots show Widgeons molting from the Eclipse (non-breeding) plumage to Breeding plumage.
The male’s eye patch gradually turns green and becomes iridescent as the breeding season approaches.
Happy Widgeon 5677
Widgeons are quite noisy and gregarious birds. The Widgeon above was quacking continuously.
They often gather with diving ducks and coots, snatching plants which are brought up by the diving birds.
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Images in this section are in a number of different Galleries on the Photoshelter website.
The Banner below leads to the Wildlife Collections page where a Gallery can be selected.
Images can be found in the following Collections (Direct Links)
Birds Collections: Ducks Pelicans
Mandarins & Wood Ducks Assorted Ducks
Pintails, Teals & Ruddy Ducks Brown Pelican
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Cinnamon Teal 4336
The Cinnamon Teal is a small dabbling duck with Cinnamon-brown coloring, red eyes and a black bill.
The long, spatulate bill is used to dabble for plant food, but they also eat mollusks and aquatic insects.
The bill of the Cinnamon Teal is shorter than that of the Northern Shoveler, but quite similar in shape.
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Cinnamon Teal 4409
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Cinnamon Teal 4423
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These Cinnamon Teal shots were taken near sunset at Newport Back Bay, south of Bolsa Chica.
Cinnamon Teal 4339
The Cinnamon Teal winters in Mexico and South America, staging during migration in Southern California.
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Cinnamon Teals 4381
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Cinnamon Teals Swallow fly-by X1172
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Male and female Cinnamon Teals. The female looks a lot like the female Blue-Winged Teal,
The Cinnamon Teal female is slightly larger, with a larger bill and warmer brown plumage.
The female does not have the red eye of the male. They pair up before migration begins.
Cinnamon Teals 4350
Cinnamon Teals at sunset on the waters of Newport Back Bay.
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Images in this section are in a number of different Galleries on the Photoshelter website.
The Banner below leads to the Wildlife Collections page where a Gallery can be selected.
Images can be found in the following Collections (Direct Links)
Birds Collections: Ducks Pelicans
Mandarins & Wood Ducks Assorted Ducks
Pintails, Teals & Ruddy Ducks Brown Pelican
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Green Winged Teal 4152
The Green-Winged Teal is a small dabbling duck about the size of a Bufflehead.
The male has an arcing iridescent green eye patch in breeding plumage which is
similar to the eye patch of the Widgeon, on a round, cinnamon brown head which
is a bit lighter and less red than the Cinnamon Teal. The chest is buff with dark
speckles, the wings are dark gray-brown and strongly patterned, with a white
shoulder bar and an iridescent green patch, and the tail is buff and black.
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Green Winged Teal 4371
The Green-Winged Teal is the smallest of the dabbling ducks and has a very round head.
They typically live in shallow wetlands (these images were taken at Newport Back Bay).
They dabble for plants, insects and invertebrates, but they prefer eating on mud flats.
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Green Winged Teal 4129
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Green Winged Teal 4132
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A Green-Winged Teal grabbing a drink from the shallow water next to the mud flats in Newport Back Bay.
Green Winged Teal 4134 M
The Green-Winged Teal has finely-spaced lamellae on the inside of its bill which allows the duck
to feed on its favorite food: small seeds of rushes, pond weeds, sedge and other grasses and grain.
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Green Winged Teal 4124
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Green Winged Teal 4146
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Green-Winged Teal in the shallow waters next to the mud flats of Newport Back Bay.
Green Winged Teal 4143 M
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Images in this section are in a number of different Galleries on the Photoshelter website.
The Banner below leads to the Wildlife Collections page where a Gallery can be selected.
Images can be found in the following Collections (Direct Links)
Birds Collections: Ducks Pelicans
Mandarins & Wood Ducks Assorted Ducks
Pintails, Teals & Ruddy Ducks Brown Pelican
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Brown Pelican 3653
A juvenile Brown Pelican patrolling the waters at Bolsa Chica.
The Brown Pelican is the smallest of the eight Pelican species, although
it is a four foot tall bird. One of the two Pelicans which feeds by diving,
the Brown Pelican is a coastal bird which never goes very far inland.
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Brown Pelican Hunting Dive 3625
Unlike most other Pelicans which herd fish from the surface and then scoop them up while swimming,
Brown Pelicans (and similar Peruvian Pelicans) spot schools of fish from above, then dive on them,
opening their bill to catch the fish in their huge pouch. They keep the fish in sight by turning over in
flight just before they hit the water, so the bird often enters the water sideways or upside down.
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Brown Pelican Hunting Dive 3626 M
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Brown Pelican Hunting Dive 3623
A Brown Pelican enters the water upside down while
diving on a school of fish at the Bolsa Chica wetlands.
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Brown Pelican Hunting Dive HS5708
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Brown Pelican Hunting Dive HS5709
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A Brown Pelican hunting dive in a canal at Bolsa Chica near sunset in May.
After they make their catch, they spill the water out and throw the fish into their gullet.
They drain the water because the pouch holds three gallons, while their stomach holds one.
Brown Pelican Hunting Dive
(1200 x 1430, 634 KB)
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Brown Pelican Hunting Sunrise 1335-37 M
A 1500 x 1223 composite image of a Brown Pelican hunting dive at sunrise off Sanibel Island, Florida.
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Images in this section are in a number of different Galleries on the Photoshelter website.
The Banner below leads to the Wildlife Collections page where a Gallery can be selected.
Images can be found in the following Collections (Direct Links)
Birds Collections: Ducks Pelicans
Mandarins & Wood Ducks Assorted Ducks
Pintails, Teals & Ruddy Ducks Brown Pelican
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Brown Pelican 3596
A Brown Pelican Juvenile taken in January, with the typical mottled brown plumage.
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Brown Pelican Non-Breeding 0502 M
A Brown Pelican displaying post-Breeding Plumage in November.
In their breeding plumage, their bill and pouch are redder, the head
becomes a creamy yellow, and the iris turns bluish-white. The neck is
dark brown before breeding, but after breeding the neck turns white.
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Brown Pelican Non-Breeding 505
A Brown Pelican in post-Breeding Plumage displays its bright orange gular pouch.
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Brown Pelican Non-Breeding 0501c
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Brown Pelican Non-Breeding 0518c
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Detail crops of Brown Pelicans in post-Breeding Plumage, swimming and taking off in November.
Brown Pelican Non-Breeding 0517
A Brown Pelican in post-Breeding Plumage at Bolsa Chica in November.
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Brown Pelican Breeding Plumage 3571
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Brown Pelican Breeding Plumage 3572
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A Brown Pelican in Breeding plumage, preening at the edge of the Main Canal at Bolsa Chica.
Note the dark brown neck and the brilliant red of the gular pouch and edges at the tip of the bill.
Brown Pelican Breeding Plumage 3575 M
After preening, there is nothing like a good stretch, which also shows the brilliant red pouch and bill edges.
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Brown Pelican Gular Pouch 3611
The gular pouch of a juvenile Brown Pelican, backlit by the sun.
A Brown Pelican pouch can hold three gallons of fish and water.
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Brown Pelicans 3558
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Brown Pelicans 3559
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Preening is a popular activity, as can be seen in the two images above which show an
adult in Breeding plumage and three juveniles alongside the Main Canal at Bolsa Chica.
Brown Pelican Juvenile Stretching 3564c
A detail crop of one of the juveniles taking a good post-preening stretch.
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Images in this section are in a number of different Galleries on the Photoshelter website.
The Banner below leads to the Wildlife Collections page where a Gallery can be selected.
Images can be found in the following Collections (Direct Links)
Birds Collections: Ducks Pelicans
Mandarins & Wood Ducks Assorted Ducks
Pintails, Teals & Ruddy Ducks Brown Pelican
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Brown Pelican Flight X0045
A Brown Pelican in flight over the Main Canal at Bolsa Chica in April.
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Brown Pelican Flight HS9681
A Brown Pelican in flight over Ballona Creek in the late afternoon in July.
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Brown Pelican Flight HS9686
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Brown Pelican Flight HS9772
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Two Brown Pelicans in flight, taken head-on over Ballona Creek.
The closing speed of a Brown Pelican can be quite fast, and it is exceptionally difficult to capture
a sharp head-on image in flight as the bird often flies through the depth of field of a telephoto lens.
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Brown Pelican Flight HS9797
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Brown Pelican Flight HS9799
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A Brown Pelican in somewhat ragged summer plumage, captured as it passed directly overhead.
Brown Pelican Flight HS9798 M
Unlike the typical grayish color of the gular pouch in non-breeding plumage, this bird has a yellowish pouch.
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Brown Pelican Flight HS9846
A Brown Pelican (with the typical grayish gular pouch) on a head-on approach at Ballona Creek.
Below are several images of this bird in a flight study sequence. The image above was left out of
the Flight Study Composite, but along with the images in the composite, it is available separately.
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Brown Pelican Flight HS9847
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Brown Pelican Flight HS9848
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Several wing positions of this Brown Pelican as it transitions from soaring flight to make a shallow
turn following Ballona Creek. The Pelican’s wings are so efficient that it does not need to flap much.
Brown Pelican Flight HS9849
A Brown Pelican with its wings in soaring position as it begins a shallow turn past the photographer.
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Brown Pelican Flight HS9850
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Brown Pelican Flight HS9851
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These images show superb detail of the underwing coverts and the primary and secondary feathers.
Brown Pelican Flight HS9857 M
A Brown Pelican displays its wing detail as it flies past the photographer at Ballona Creek.
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Brown Pelican Flight Study XXL
A 3000 x 440 version of the XXL Flight Study Composite (14000 x 1750) showing the Brown Pelican
displayed in the previous image as he makes a slow left turn past the photographer at Ballona Creek.
The XXL Composite makes a spectacular 5 foot wide panoramic print.
Brown Pelicans can easily fly through the depth of field of a long telephoto lens, as the closing speed
can be high. Unless you maintain a focus lock where the wing meets the sky, the lack of contrast on the
body and head makes it difficult to track focus, and maintaining a focus lock through a sequence is rare.
Each of the images in this sequence are available separately.
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Images in this section are in a number of different Galleries on the Photoshelter website.
The Banner below leads to the Wildlife Collections page where a Gallery can be selected.
Images can be found in the following Collections (Direct Links)
Birds Collections: Ducks Pelicans
Mandarins & Wood Ducks Assorted Ducks
Pintails, Teals & Ruddy Ducks Brown Pelican
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Click the Display Composite above to visit the Egrets, Skimmers, Herons and Grebes page
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Click the Display Composite above to visit the Terns of Bolsa Chica page
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Click the Display Composite above to visit the Shorebirds page
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Click the Display Composite above to visit the Raptors, Cormorants and Other Birds page
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