Copyright ©2025 Deborah M. Zajac. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
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Last week I mentioned He-Man and I went on a not so spontaneous trip down to Henderson, NV. Not so spontaneous because I have been wanting to go down since December when the Long-tailed Ducks were first reported being seen there. They have wintered there since December! I needed two-three days with nothing planned so we could go down.
Henderson is just the next town south of Las Vegas. The ducks were continuing to be seen and we finally had a couple of days free to go so off we went on a little road trip.
There were 3 Female Long-tailed Ducks staying in the ponds at the Henderson Bird Viewing Preserve. We arrived on Sunday afternoon after the Preserve had closed, so our plan was to get there when it opened Monday morning at 7AM. We arrived just a few minutes after they opened, signed in, spoke with the person working there about where to start in the preserve to see the Long-tailed Ducks. They gave us great pointers.
We didn’t see them on our first pass of the pond they were being sighted at so we moved on and explored some other ponds. There are 9 ponds in the preserve.
On our second pass by pond 5 He-Man spotted one! I moved to get better light and there they both were!
Here’s the first one we saw.
Here’s the second one. They were easy to tell apart because their bills are different. One has some pink on it and the other one has an all black bill.
The female tails are much, much shorter than the males, but still they’re so cute. I was so excited to see them. The male remains on my “hope to see” list.
I saw 4 other new to me birds while there which I’ll share in future posts.
more to come…
Circadianreflections Blog 
A spontaneous trip … sounds like fun! Great captures … she is beautiful!
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Thank you so much, Denise! It was a fun trip and neat sighting of a duck I hadn’t ever seen before.
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How exciting for you! Look forward to seeing your other birds you saw too.
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Thank you so much, Jill!
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I’ve never seen this duck. You captured it beautifully!
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Thank you so much, Jennie! Looking at the range map for the Long-tailed duck it looks like you get them passing through for migration, and their non-breeding season they’re on your coast line.
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Ah! I’m not on the coast, so that’s why I haven’t seen them.
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Sounds like the best kind of trip – spontaneous and you got to add new birds to your life list.
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It is isn’t it! It’s always fun to see new birds. Thank you so much, Sheila!
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These are real cuties. I’d never heard of the species. The coloration is different, of course, but their body shape reminds me of our Grebes. Do they dive? or just dabble? Your photos are wonderful; I’m so glad you were able to find and photograph them!
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Congratulations Deborah with these lifers. The Long-tailed ducks in your pictures indeed are cute, but also, as you write, not exceptionally long tailed. I hope you are going to be able to spot and photograph the male as well. I’m not especially into birds like you are, but I thoroughly enjoy your tales about travelling to, finding and admiring your birds. And the pictures of course!
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Your road trip paid off with your great find. We like to do the same. Pursue a new bird and make a date out of it or a weekend away. So glad you both enjoyed the experience together, and you saw other lifers. Sounds like a top place for ducks.
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They are so cute, Deborah. Your photos are exquisite.
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I wish I could beam over and join you on your nature walks, Deborah. I breathe deeply every time I stop by your place!!
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Nice find!
I always associate LTDs with being sea ducks and if my geography is right Nevada is slightly landlocked? Birds turn up in the oddest places.
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What a great catch. A good photographer always needs a good spotter. 🙂
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Thank you so much, Judy! Having a good spotter is priceless! He-Man is a good spotter.
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Great photos. It’s exciting that you got to see the birds, your determination paid off.
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Thank you so much, Ally! I kept thinking as winter was getting closer to Spring they’d fly north and I’d miss them. They’re still being seen in So. NV! I’m so glad we got to see them.
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Pretty thrilling to see a new species! Fine photos, Deborah 😊
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Thanks for making the trip and continuing the walk to find these (and thanks for sharing them). They are beautiful ducks, and the photos are great. I love the reflections.
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Thank you so much, Dan! It was a lovely morning there. I’m so glad you liked the images of the little Long-tailed Ducks and their reflections.
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Woohoo, you found them, Deborah! I’ve been thinking about you and wondering if you were able to get there and see them. Congrats on this beautiful lifer and fabulous photos!! ❤️🤗💃😊
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Thank you so much, Donna!! I was so excited to see them. 💃🥰They’re so cute and smaller than I thought they’d be.
The male is still on my Life List but, with any luck I’ll see one in Alaska this summer. 🤞🏻
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Alaska???? 😲 Can I go????!!! 🤣 I am working on hubby for a trip to Alaska, not this year though, thinking two years. My son & his wife want to do the Alaska train (a week?), I told him I’m going with them if hubby doesn’t go!
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It’s good you didn’t duck your responsibility to go see those ducks. It seems strange that female long-tailed ducks have short tails.
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Thank you!! Isn’t it something that they don’t have the long tail like the males, but then again the male birds in most cases are more striking than the females.
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Oh so exciting that you got a lifer, Deborah! You captured these females beautifully, too. Very fun. I appreciate the tenacity and determination it took to see them.
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Thank you so much, Jet! It was a fun quick road trip. I’m so thankful they have stuck around and are still there…well yesterday they were reported as still there anyway.
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