Long-tailed Duck/Lacha earrfhada (Clangula hyemalis)

Shorebirds of Ireland, Freshwater Birds of Ireland and The Birds of Ireland: A Field Guide with Jim Wilson.
www.markcarmodyphotography.com

The long-tailed duck (Clangula hyemalis) is a medium-sized sea duck that breeds in the tundra and taiga regions of the arctic and winters along the northern coastlines of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. It is the only member of the genus Clangula.

Long-tailed ducks breed on tundra across northern Eurasia (in Russian Siberia, Kamchatka, and Karelia, for example), the Faroe Islands, Finland, parts of southern Greenland, Iceland, Norway, as well as across northern North America (Alaska and northern Canada).

In winter, they are found on and near large bodies of seawater, such as the Northern Pacific Ocean, the North Atlantic Ocean, Hudson Bay and the American Great Lakes.

Adults have white underparts, though the rest of the plumage goes through a complex moulting process. The male has a long pointed tail (10 to 15 cm (3.9 to 5.9 in) long) and a dark grey bill crossed by a pink band. In winter, the male has a dark cheek patch on a mainly white head and neck, a dark breast and mostly white body. In summer, the male is dark on the head, neck and back with a white cheek patch. The female has a brown back and a relatively short pointed tail. In winter, the female's head and neck are white with a dark crown. In summer, the head is dark. Juveniles resemble adult females in autumn plumage, though with a lighter, less distinct cheek patch.

The long-tailed duck is still hunted across a large part of its range. There has been a significant decline in the number of birds wintering in the Baltic Sea, partly due to their susceptibility to being trapped in gillnets. For these reasons the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has categorised the long-tailed duck as vulnerable. (wikipedia)

This is a male in winter plumage that is settling into the winter in Dublin Bay. Long-tailed Ducks are a winter visitor to Ireland. It is likely that a substantial proportion of the birds that occur in Ireland and Britain come from the population breeding in Greenland/Iceland.

Taken in: Ireland / Leinster / Dollymount (show map)

Taken on: December 26, 2023

Tags:

Age

1st Winter

Seabirds

Sea Duck

Long-tailed Duck

Clangula hyemalis

Lacha earrfhada

Mark

books

Birds of Ireland

Birds of Ireland: A Field Guide

Shorebirds of Ireland

Freshwater Birds of Ireland

Camera

Sony

200-600 G OSS FE 5.6-6.3

ILCE-9M2

A9II

SEL200600G

200-600mm

Mark Carmody

Carmo

Carmody

CarmoPolice

CarmoPolis

markcarmodyphotography

markcarmodyphotography.com

Topic

Birds

Irish Birds

Wildlife

Europe

Ireland

Dublin

Dublin Bay

North Bull Island

A9_01105 « less

Sets appears in: • Birds of Ireland • Rare and Scarce Birds of Ireland

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Camera: Sony ILCE-9M2, f/9.0, 1/500 sec, 840mm, ISO 1250 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Sony ILCE-9M2
Lens:	Sony FE 200–600 mm F5.6–6.3 G OSS (SEL200600G) + 1.4X Teleconverter (SEL14TC)
Aperture:	f/9.0
Exposure Time:	0.002 sec (1/500)
Focal Length:	840mm
ISO:	1250
Exposure Bias:	+0.7 EV
Flash:	Off, Did not fire
Exposure Program:	Manual
Exposure Mode:	Manual
Metering Mode:	Center-weighted average
White Balance:	Auto
Saturation:	Low
Sharpness:	Hard
Color Space:	Uncalibrated
Software:	Capture One 23 Macintosh
Show full info

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