Bird of the Month: Long-tailed duck

The long-tailed duck, as seen here in Birch Bay State Park, often spends winters along our coastal waters. While males are mostly black in the summer, in winter they are impressively patterned with whites, browns, blacks and grays with long tail feathers. Females are brown and white, and without the long tail. They dive down 200 feet to feed, spending considerable time underwater. They are migratory, breeding in the summer in Alaska and spending winters in the Blaine area. The oldest long-tailed duck recorded was a 17-year-old female.