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Long-tailed Duck | Clangula hyemalis | Harelde kakawi

Winter emblem of Prince Edward County's remote southern shore, these aren't puddle ducks hanging around town looking for a handout. Rather, they survive on shellfish scoured from the depths of storm-tossed Lake Ontario.

 

When the winds are howling and the water clogged with ice, they go about their business with a steady determination. When the weather calms, the air rings with their call - Ow addle at! Ow addle at! Doesn't transcribe that impressively, but the Prince Edward Point area is the wintering grounds for a significant portion of the species's entire North American population. When a flock of 3000 or so of them are calling together, it's an amazing sound.

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Uploaded on March 6, 2021
Taken on March 4, 2021