Every Fall, water fowl migrate along the Pacific Coast. Egrets, Cormorants, grebes, and other ducks, including the pictured Bufflehead (buffies) ducks, arrive at the golf course where I work, near Banks Oregon. The golf course’s four multi-acre ponds are about 40 miles east of the Pacific Ocean.
I went out, determined to take a picture of the buffies. They are skittish and I knew it would take scores of shots, so I bought a new memory card for the camera. I needed it.
According to Cornell, Buffies overwinter in NW Oregon, although there is a vague blob on Cornell’s map where they hang year-round, nearby, maybe south and west of Banks.
The buffies are very active on these fresh water ponds, splashing and posing. They flock with the mallards and wigeons, and avoid the ill-tempered coots. The Buffies aren’t patronizing the one pond with fish.
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Thursday, Nov 30, 2017 · 5:00:56 PM +00:00 · 6412093
Ahem, (cough) those are actually Hooded Mergansers (Lophodytes cucullatus) not Buffies. Those are year-round residents of NW Oregon, however these not show up on the golf course until November, when they move to larger water bodies.