ML47744461

Age

Not specified

Sex

Not specified

Observation details

These were a male and female engaged in a spectacular courtship display and mating ritual. Seen from Nantasket Beach, later photographed off Gun Rock. Courtship display: The drake began by displaying, which consisted of him rapidly flicking his head back so his nape was in contact with his back and his bill held pointing directly upward. Then, he brought his head forward so the his neck and head stretched vertically, with the bill held at a 45º angle upward. The male slowly retracted his head and neck. This occurred at least three times. At one point, the male outstretched his left wing and held it in this position for 15 seconds while tipping to one side. This female began swimming around the male with her head very low to the water, and her bill held parallel to the surface of the water. Copulation: The male swam up next to the female, who was still riding low in the water. The male mounted the female and bit the back of her head (upper nape area) and rode around directly on top of her for 20 seconds. Part of the time her head was poking above water in front of him, and other times she was completely submerged underwater, entirely invisible. Eventually, she repositioned such that the anterior portion of her body was above water along his left side, and her remaining posterior half was still submerged. Still biting her nape, the male wrapped his foot around her back and the pair began rotating clockwise in the water together. The male had his cloaca turned toward her, although I was unable see hers. The pair completed four rotations like this before finally separating. The copulation lasted 60 seconds. Post-copulation: The pair preened and bathed for several minutes, with lots of wing flapping and shaking.

Technical information

Model

Canon EOS 7D

Lens

EF400mm f/5.6L USM

ISO

400

Focal length

400 mm

Flash

Flash did not fire, auto

f-stop

f/8.0

Shutter speed

1/2000 sec

Dimensions

1576 pixels x 910 pixels

Original file size

1.07 MB