I haven’t managed to find the reasons for calling this bird „a fridge” in Polish (the Polish name of this species is „lodówka”, Eng. “fridge”), but it remains an open question. Long-tailed ducks are quite easy to photograph by the Baltic sea in the autumn-winter season. They are found there in quite large flocks, and apart from gulls they are the least bashful species occurring there (goosanders, cormorants). The long-tailed duck weighs up to one kilogram, with a wingspan of about 0.7 meter. Males are easily distinguished by their long tails, consisting of two sharp pointed feathers.
Last minute news 12-2013
During our winter trip to the sea in December 2013 there were also taken a few interesting photos of the Long-tailed duck. One of the female ducks was so brave that accepted less than 10 meters distance from the lens. She was sitting on the shore, watching me intently, and the male concerned about her behavior kept a similar distance remaining in water. And so, for a moment I could shoot from a short distance either the male or the female of this beautiful duck, thereby improving the existing gallery decor. After visiting several places during this trip I could say that Long-tailed ducks were everywhere. They could be seen in Rewa, Puck, Jastarnia, on Hel Peninsula. Of course, not always at such a distance to be able to take such pictures as those described above. But it did not take me long to look for them, in contrast to the case of common eiders, purple sandpipers, mergansers or whooper swans.
Last minute news - 04/2014
Although I didn’t add any new pictures, but in the port bay in Hel I recorded the sounds produced by a group of the Long-tail Ducks. In the same place in the winter I photographed some Long-tailed Ducks, which I included in the gallery devoted to this species. Who knows, maybe they are the same individuals.
Last minute news -03/2016
Well, while on the Hel Peninsula tour in March 2016 I could not observe many species of birds. Not much happened there, but long-tailed ducks could be seen almost everywhere, and as usually at the port of Hel there were the largest flocks of the birds. I have added some pictures and qualitative changes have taken place in the gallery.
Last minute news – 11/2017
I did not expect to find a long-tailed duck in mid-November on Hel. Temperatures over zero degrees do not favour the emergence of this bird on our coast. But unexpectedly an individual landed near the dock where we were watching, to take off and disappear after a while. But it was enough to take some interesting photos and make changes in the gallery.
Last minute news - 07/2018 - Spitsbergen
During my stay in Spitsbergen I was really surprised by the fact that they were hardly possible to find there. In such a place I expected frequent encounters with these birds and hoped to take pictures of them in mating colors. Whereas, I could observe them only once, when departing, fortunately I also took a picture that I added to the gallery.
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