Bufflehead in the Bay

Oil on Panel - 4 x 4 inches

     Once in fear of going extinct due to their rate of decline in the 20th century, Buffleheads have weathered threats to their survival. Recent data from Ducks Unlimited’s website shows almost a quarter of a million Buffleheads were killed each hunting season from 2019-2022, with Michigan, Wisconsin and California possessing the highest harvest rates. Currently, they are a species of low concern per the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. 
     Sometimes called Butterballs due to packing on so much weight, these ducks have the distinction of being North America’s smallest diving duck. During breeding, which occurs mainly in the boreal forests of Canada and Alaska, females nest in tree cavities excavated by Northern Flickers or Pileated Woodpeckers. Since tree cavities are in high demand – around 85 species of North American birds are known to use tree cavities as nesting sites – it’s a good thing that Buffleheads accept human-made nest boxes as well. Parental care and upbringing is handled by the females only. 
     My painting depicts an immature male due to its distinctive, sharp-edged, white markings on its greater secondary underwing coverts. A special thanks goes out to Tony Leukering for his expertise in sexing this duck using my photos. 
 
My photo of the Bufflehead with its wings spread. It's the same Bufflehead used as reference for my painting. Photographed April 27, 2025, Park Point, Duluth, MN.


     Stay wild, my friends.




References

All about Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology. (2026). Bufflehead, range map. https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Bufflehead/maps-range

Ducks Unlimited. (2026). Bufflehead. https://www.ducks.org/hunting/waterfowl-id/bufflehead.

Kricher, J. (2020). Peterson Reference Guide to Bird Behavior. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

Leukering, T. (2026, February 19) What's This Bird? [Online forum post]. ABA Community. https://www.aba.org/community/groups/whats-this-bird/

Pearson, T.G. (1936). Birds of America. Garden City Books.

Copyright notification: The internet is a scary place. I have seen my artwork on unauthorized websites. This is called stealing, also known as copyright infringement. The only authorized websites allowed to display my artwork are www.beccamulenburg.com, www.beccamulenburg.blogspot.com, and galleries currently showing my work. Any other website, posting, sales of my work, or the like, is illegitimate and operating under copyright infringement which is against the law. Anyone found to have infringed a copyrighted work may be liable for statutory damages up to $30,000 for each work infringed and, if willful infringement is proven by the copyright owner, that amount may be increased up to $150,000 for each work infringed. Please be aware. Copyrights do not transfer with the sale of any of my artworks.

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