2 Artic Birds in the same week!!! Tuesday, I watched the Snow Buntings and yesterday I followed a MOU post over to Vadnais Lake and saw my first male Long-tailed Duck. Linda W and I viewed a female Long-tail in Prescott last winter, but this was a first male for me. This guy was fishing with a flock of Goldeneye a long way from shore. I would have loved to get a close-up. May try Digiscoping one of these days.
Fun fact: Of all diving ducks, the Long-tailed Duck spends the most time under water relative to time on the surface. When it is foraging it is submerged three to four times as much as it is on top of the water. They are also one of the deepest diving ducks, and can dive as deep as 60 meters (200 feet) to forage. (http://www.allaboutbirds.org)
Note: The black-and-white Common Goldeneye is one of the last ducks to migrate south in fall. 