Birds

Pochards: Last Lifer of the Trip

October 21, 2007 by Corey 6 Comments

The Pochard is a diving duck of Eurasia, similar to the North American Redhead and Canvasback. Somehow, despite having visited several good locations like the Gulper See that should have had at least a few, no Pochard was kind enough to swim or fly through my field of view. Until today, that is, when, not ten blocks from where I am staying, five Pochards were hanging around in a canal with Mallards and Mute Swans. Lifer number 80 for my first European sojourn, not bad considering how much time I spent not birding.

There will be many more posts about the birds I saw in Germany (after all, I don’t want to disappoint Jochen) once I get back to New York. In the meantime, enjoy the Pochard, a most beautiful duck.

Pochard

Pochards

Pochard coming at you

Pochard sitting up

Another Pochard

Written by Corey
Corey is a New Yorker who lived most of his life in upstate New York but has lived in Queens since 2008. He's only been birding since 2005 but has garnered a respectable life list by birding whenever he wasn't working as a union representative or spending time with his family. He lives in Forest Hills with Daisy and Desmond Shearwater. His bird photographs have appeared on the Today Show, in Birding, Living Bird Magazine, Bird Watcher's Digest, and many other fine publications. He is also the author of the American Birding Association Field Guide to the Birds of New York.