Going Quackers

Mallards in Flight

 

With the deer hunting season in full swing and hunter pressure Saturday second only to opening day on Monday, I decided to check out a couple of spots for waterfowl.  My first stop was at a local wetland but it was ice covered.  Moving on to a local lake I spotted a couple of flocks in deeper water well out from shore.

 

While checking the lake from I encountered a fellow photographer visiting from Germany.  He was concerned that he was to meet a couple here for a photo outing and had not been able to find them.  I realized that I had probably just seen them at another lake access point so I directed him there noting that I was going to return later with the boat.

Mallards

 

Returning with the boat a couple of hours later, the little photo group was at the boat dock.  As I prepared to launch we chatted and I was pleased to learn that the locals were familiar with Country Captures and had visited both here and Elk County because of the images they had found here.  After launching the boat I noticed that our German visitor was still at his car so I invited him to a photo cruise on the lake.  With a big smile he responded "I would love to".

 

For the next couple of hours we cruised the lake; however the waterfowl would have none of it anytime I attempted to close the distance.  With the autumn waterfowl hunting season ongoing, and at least one group of hunters concealed along the shore behind a decoy spread, the ducks were not about to allow any boat to approach within shotgun range. 

 

 

Lesser Scaup

 

In spring I am accustomed to the scaup flushing at about 100 yards, with other species normally allow closer approaches.  Ruddy ducks are usually the most trusting, many times not flushing until I am within 15-20 yards, however now all of the ducks were flushing 200 yards or more out.

Ruddy Ducks

 

During our cruise I had to settle for passing shots at extreme range however having a good chatting companion more than made up for the duck disappointment.

Mallard male Flushing

 

After dropping my new found friend off at his car I returned to the lake and did manage to locate a mallard pair feeding in the shallows.  Approaching them I stayed focused waiting for the flush shot.  While the range was still farther than what I would have liked, by using the 600mm lens and cropping some, I did manage an acceptable image as the male took flight.

Mallard female Flushing

A moment later the female followed the male again giving me a decent take-off shot

 

With the outlook for duck photography bleak because of the wary birds I began to focus on fishing.  Even though the water temp read 34 degrees, after some searching, I managed to find some active bluegills.  As the sun dropped near the horizon I headed back to the launch with a few images in the camera and a nice catch of gills in the livewell.  Not bad for an outing on the first day of December!

Ruddy Duck

There are still many images from my recent Florida trip to review and process but I cannot ignore the spring waterfowl migration now passing through our area.  The little spike tailed ruddy ducks are a common springtime visitor and today I found this lone duck on a local lake.

At times the ruddy was hanging out with a mixed flock of horned grebes and red-breasted mergansers and at others I would spot it off by itself.  Here the ruddy is resting.  Notice how it is supporting itself with the vegetation to steady itself against the waves.

Earlier in the morning, before the wind kicked up, the calm water reflected the little duck perfectly.

This particular ruddy was very tolerant of my presence but when I approached to within about fifteen yards she finally had enough and took flight.  Not overly alarned she only flew 100 yards or so before settling down with the flock of red-breasted mergansers.

Today's waterfowl/bird sightings included; loon, ring-necked duck, mallard, horned grebe, red-breasted merganser.

Ruddy Duck Encounter

While boating Friday I noticed a flock of small ducks at a distance near the breast wall of the lake.  At first glance I thought they were female buffleheads but upon drawing nearer I realized they were Ruddy Ducks.  Both buffleheads and ruddy are usually difficult to approach closely by boat but as the wind was blowing towards them I felt that I had a better than average chance of getting within photo range.  I have learned over the years that a drifting boat is far less alarming to waterfowl than one under power, even though that power is just an electric motor running at slow speed.  Positioning the boat and allowing the wind to do the rest allowed me to drift well within camera range.  As the birds began to become nervous this male in non-breeding plumage rose to flap his short wings.

The ducks then turned to pass behind me.  Their turn improved the angle of light allowing me to capture what I consider my best ever shot of ruddy duck hens.  One of the first things that caught my eye in this photo is the wake pushed up by the lead duck's breast, a touch that I certainly could not have planned.  

Once the ducks had moved behind me I began moving away not wanting to disturb them further as I had gotten what I had came.

The little ducks though had other ideas.  Once behind me I heard the flapping of wings as the ducks made their unobserved escape. I have observed many species of wildlife use this exact same tactic of escape; waiting until they think I am not looking to make a quick exit.

Migrants: Ruddy Duck

The autumn waterfowl migration is underway in our area. Many species of ducks pass through our area but never stay long.

While fishing I noticed a small flock of ducks resting in the middle of the lake. Upon approaching with the boat I was surprised to find that it was a mixed flock of at least four different species and this little female was the only ruddy duck present in the entire flock.

Ruddy Duck Hens

A couple of weeks ago I encountered a Ruddy Duck drake while visiting the lake and featured him on an earlier post. This past Saturday I bumped into a flock of hens. I don’t know if the hens and drakes migrate at different times or if this is purely coincidence.

A heavy coating of pollen along with the lighting angle created the unusual appearance of the water’s surface shown in this image.

Lonely Little Ruddy Duck

I spied a lone Ruddy Duck male on the lake Friday morning. As I had never captured a good image of a Ruddy before I made an extra effort to approach him. I soon found this was no easy task for like a Grebe he would slip under the surface only to reappear quite some distance away.

I would have loved to have gotten closer but I am content with this image captured with the Canon 30D and a 100mm-400mm L lens.