Our Friend Pinny
As you will see from the sections below, we get occasional northern pintail ducks in Central Park. One of our favorites transitioned in 2016/17 to a young male to an adult, and returned again in 2017/18. These photos of Pinny were taken in January 2018, and you can see Pinny's most recent video appearances in the Cold Ducks!!! video and the Festive Feathers video.
Pinny, the northern pintail at the Pond, Central Park, January 9, 2018
Pinny, the Pond, January 9, 2018
Pinny and mallards, the Pond, January 9, 2018
Pinny at the Pond, January 9, 2018
Pinny Grows Up!
From Nov. 24, 2016, through at least March 2017, we have had the great pleasure of watching a young male northern pintail transition from baby feathers to full adult brilliance.
Northern pintail young male, the Pond, Dec. 7, 2016
Dec. 28, 2016
Jan. 17, 2017
Feb.18, 2017
The Pinny Grows Up video follows our northern pintail from Nov. 24, 2016, through March 17, 2017. (I assume the duck seen at the Pool on Nov. 24 is the same one seen at the Pond on Dec. 1 and thereafter.) The video is a little longish, but it does cover three months of a very entertaining pintail.
The photos below show Pinny in transition.
Northern Pintails in Central Park
We've not had a great many northern pintails in Central Park. On Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 24, 2016, I saw a young male pintail at the Pool at 100th Street. (I was told at first that this duck was a female, but learned later that it was a male. The video still says the duck was female, but I've corrected the blog and the notes on the video to reflect the pintail's true gender.) It took me a while to find him among the mallards, but once he was spotted, he was very feisty and gave a good show.
Female northern pintail at the Pool, Nov. 24, 2016
My second Northern Pintail Filming the Feathers video features this handsome dabbler, with his long neck, gray-blue legs and shiny black bill, set to music by Beethoven, the third movement of the Trio in E Flat Major, performed by Paul Pitman.
This grouping of photos shows off this young duck, including a duck-butt photo, from the visit to the Pool on Nov. 24.
Male Pintails at the Pool and Reservoir, and a Female at Turtle Pond
Previously, I had seen a female pintail at Turtle Pond in September 2016. I last saw male pintails in November 2013.
Male northern pintail at the Reservoir, Nov. 30, 2013
Female northern pintail at Turtle Pond, Sept. 21, 2016
The Filming the Feathers video features footage from both the 2013 and 2016 sightings. Music is by Beethoven, performed by Soni Ventorum Wind Quintet, obtained from MusOpen.org, a royalty-free music source.
For a gorgeous pintail photo and a lot of good background on these handsome ducks, visit the Northern Pintail page on the Audubon site. The following gallery features photos from the 2013 sightings on Nov. 20 and 30, and the Sept. 21 sighting in 2016.
