This past weekend I visited a local lake that was mostly frozen. However, that pushed most of the waterfowl into some open water that was closer to shore. Here are a few photos starting with the most beautiful duck in the world (IMHO).
Photo #1 ..... Wood Duck
Photo #2 .... his female companion.
Photo #3 .... a male Redhead.
Photo #4 .... a male Hooded Merganser.
Photo #5 .... a pair of Hooded Mergansers going to the Water Ballet. He in his tux and she with a new hairdo.
Photo #6 .... a female Common Goldeneye slipping and sliding on the ice.
Photo #7 .... a male Canvasback.
Photo #8 ....a male Lesser Scaup.
Photo #9 .... a male Ring-necked Duck.
Photo #10 .... the infamous Canada Goose.
Tremendous pics Linth!!!!! Thanks so much for posting these and I agree about the Wood Duck!
Photo #11 .... Sea Gulls. I speak no evil, I hear no evil and I see no evil !!!
Photo # 12... a male Northern Shoveler.
This message was edited Feb 14, 2007 2:25 PM
Photo #13 .... a pair of Mallard Drakes, in flight.
Quite a varied batch of water birds you'd seen & captured, Linth! Some superb shots ..
The Woodies are certainly some of the most beautiful ducks .. but, you of all folks would know that photo #5 would win me over as soon as I set eyes on it; especially with the description you'd given in the text box! .. (hee)
The pic of the Woodie female clearly reveals some multiple coloration on her detailed wings, that I'd plum forgotten about. Gorgeous.
Now tell us how frigidly cold you were during this shoot. Do the extreme cold temps ever present a problem in the camera functioning/properly -?-
- Magpye
Linth, as usual your photos are breathtaking and literally steal my heart!!! I definitely need to go duck hunting (with my camera, that is!!!!!). Wonderful images!!!!
Love your catch of tha Mallards flying!
Thank you all for your comments.
How cold was it, Magpye ? Let me tell you how cold it was ...... It was soooo cold that I had trouble functioning. The camera worked quite well, however. On Saturday, I stood for nearly two hours trying to capture a photo of the Redhead(s) with their head erect. Not once did they raise their head to acknowledge that dummy standing there on the bank. They just kept it tucked into their feathers. Being a gluten for punishment, I was back there on Sunday and the Redheads were wide alert.
The male and female Wood Duck make an attractive couple. Here she is performing the Swan Lake - Waltz by Tchaikovsky.
LOL - that's marvelous!!!
So pretty! Thanks so much for putting yourself out in the cold for these great pics.
What a beautiful group of birds and pictures. The lighting was perfect for you, wasn't it?
Were you using your newest lens?
Linth, an excellent collection of waterfowl. So many species. Two days ago, I checked out some open water, where a creek empties into a local pond. It was packed with ducks, but every single one was a Mallard.
Photo #11 .... Sea Gulls
linthicum you have some great waterfowl pictures. Sure looks cold though. I saw Canada Geese resting on a frozen pond yesterday evening.It looked so cold watching them out there but their down protects them well.
Cuckoo
wow Linth looks like you had a wonderful outing
linthicum, Enjoyed the photo's, Beautifull images as always!!! Thanks for posting them!
Great duck pics Linth. We have Wood ducks and Mallards on our pond frequently but they leave as soon as anyone shows up. Very Nervous.
This message was edited Feb 15, 2007 3:11 PM
I live in silver spring -- where did you take these pictures!!
the birds are wonderful
Absolutely beautiful images linthicum;,,
You must live close to the eastern flyway having so many different species of water fowl right there....
Loved the pictures.... Thanks for sharing so many...
...Dave
Thank you so much. I so enjoyed looking at your
photos and learning the names too.
Thanks everyone, again !!!
Floridian, the lighting was good. This time of year here in Maryland, the sun is a little bit lower in the sky so you have to be careful of shadows. I often had to wait until the waterfowl turned their body toward the sun. And, these photos were taken with my old lenses .... the Sigma 50-500mm.
Grasmussen, you're right, it was a good collection of waterfowl at that one location. We have a web site here in Maryland where serious birders post their sightings. That's quite helpful when you are trying to track down a particular specie. I also photographed a Pied-billed Grebe and a female American Widgeon to add to that list.
Resin, thanks. I knew the one on the left was a Ring-billed Gull but was uncertain of the other two, I only took the photo because of the reflection(s) on the ice. I did, however, take a lot of photos that day of Gulls, to practice on a moving target and primarily to keep warm.
trois, Wood Ducks do tend to be a little nervous. Ducks obviously like water so if you can find a body of water that is mostly frozen but has some open water near the shoreline, one has a better chance to get closer. I assume that you don't have that opportunity in Texas.
meadowbird, you live closer to the site than I do !!!. These photos were taken at Greenbelt Lake, off of Kenilworth Avenue, in Greenbelt. I also visit Lake Artemesia in Berwyn Heights quite frequently but I think that lake is completely frozen over.
UncleGreenthumb, I am on or close to the eastern flyway. I'm about 2 hours from the Atlantic Ocean so many waterfowl migrate along the coastline. Serious birders often go off shore several miles to view birds that seldom, if ever, come inland.
Okay, here is a photo of the Pied-billed Grebe.
And, the female American Widgeon ...
Grasmussen, you mentioned earlier that all you saw were Mallards. I saw a lot of Mallards this past weekend, also.
Here's a few of what I saw.
Linth: Your photos always amaze! The 3 gulls are priceless! And the two mallards in flight is awesome!
Wonderful light.
Deb
Really nice catch Linth!!!!
LOL - a "few," eh? What a marvelous image of so many in motion, Linth!
Nice!! And what a great action shot of the colorful mallards!
I found two (2) more species among the photos I took this weekend at one lake. I've counted 15 different waterfowl species on one lake. I could not have asked for much more ...... except some Mergansers, Teals, etc.
Here is a photo of three (3) Ruddy Ducks ....
And, lastly, the American Coot .....
.. LOL ..
Yeppers .. ^ THAT one (the Coot) certainly fetched my immediate attention, once more! heehee
The 'lift off' of all of the Mallards is another wonderful 'action' shot, Linth!!
- Magpye
