Happy Together

Well, can't really say they're happy together... but looking at them, they DO look like it! In this week's SMAP contest, Together is the theme, so decided to dig a few of the #featheredfriends couples (and friends/family!) that I encountered in my nature walks.

^{Great cormorant - Phalacrocorax carbo}

How could they not be happy, in this idyllic setting? I'm more used to see cormorants near the sea, so it's not that common for me to see them perching on trees; but here they were, overlooking the calm waters of lake Como, in northern Italy. Probably also admiring some couples quietly cruising through the lake, such as these cuties.

^{Common merganser - Mergus merganser}

They're normally birds from higher latitudes, so I felt fortunate to find them here! Male is at front, with the black head; females have a beautiful reddish-brown head, although that's not that notorious in this photo because of the light.

This lake is a very romantic location, so it wasn't a surprise to find yet another couple swimming here; a far more common species.

^{Mallard - Anas platyrhynchos}

As with the merganser, male in front, leading the way! And while some couples decided to swim in the sunny, but cold, winter day, others were just happy contemplating the landscape from the river margins.

There are more than happy couples in this post, though! On the warmer waters of Portugal, for instance, pink families enjoy some quality time together as well.

^{Greater flamingo - Phoenicopterus roseus}

And I can bet these waters are filled with good food, because the pink coloration was really strong - flamingos get their beautiful pink coloration due to the pigments present in what they eat, hence some colour variation.

Let's stay in sunny Portugal to wrap this post, with yet another couple; they were strolling by the seashore, in the south of the country, looking for a late afternoon snack.

^{Dunlin - Calidris alpina}

I find it hard to identify shorebirds, since there are a lot of species with similar plummages. These seem like juveniles, since adults have a black breast. Probably need to spend more time in nature walks searching for these little guys... practice makes perfect, right? ;)

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