Wood Duck Portraits

My Saturday morning photo session with the Wood Ducks was the best I have ever had. 

The ducks, with mating on their minds, were not quite as cautious as usual.

The entire encounter lasted eight minutes as the ducks moved in and out of the brush searching for and chasing a lone female. 

Upon review I found that I had captured nearly 50 shots, most of which were keepers.

 The action shots from this exciting encounter will soon follow in a later post.

Late Winter Wetlands Morning

Walking into the wetlands before dawn Saturday morning the sounds of geese and ducks calling filled the air.  At times the honking would rise to a crescendo followed by the sounds of flapping wings and splashing water.  The Canada goose mating season is in full swing and what a noise these big birds can make as they vie for mates and territory.  

Setting up my little pop-up blind, positioning the camera, and arranging additional camo material to complete the concealment I settled in to wait for the morning's activity to develop.  As daylight fell across the water the first wake I observed was that of a muskrat as it swam past my hide. 

As so often happens the clicking of the camera's shutter drew the muskrat's attention.  After looking me over from only a few feet away it decided that something was inherently unsafe about the strange noise and abruptly dove to safety. 

After waiting about an hour this colorful Wood Duck drake swam into view.  These ducks are extremely wary in this area as they are all survivors of at least one hunting season.  As this wood duck approached closely I then knew that I had gotten my camo right this time.

A Wood Duck hen poses prettily on the icy water

A touch of early morning sunlight brought the colors of this Wood Duck male alive.

The Wood Duck is our most colorful wild duck.  Even with these bright colors they are able to meld into the light and shadow of the surrounding vegetation, remain motionless, and hide in spots that one would swear would not conceal a mosquito let alone such a colorful duck.  This allows them to then practice their last line of defense which is to flush noisily, surprising the hunter or predator, as their rapid wing-beats quickly carry them out of harms way. 

I well remember back in the days of my youth when a large population of wood ducks lived on the creek that bordered our farm.  I recall one late July day, after we had harvested oats, counting over seventy wood ducks feeding in the oat stubble.  Those days are long past, the large flocks are gone.  Is it the result of hunting, of reduced water quality, the changes in farming practice, or other environmental changes; I do not know.  What I do know is how thankful I am to be able to find these beautiful ducks within a few miles of home and hope that each spring they will be able to return. 

And the Spring Migrations Begin..........

As winter recedes northward the spring migration of waterfowl follows.  Last weekend the wetland was covered in ice but now with the ice gone it is covered with migrating waterfowl.  What a difference one week can make!

Visiting the wetlands yesterday afternoon I was able to identify Canada Geese, Wood Ducks, Mallards, and Hooded Mergansers, pictured above.  From this assortment this hoodie male was the only one that I was able to catch off guard long enough to get good photos. 

This was my first wildlife shoot with a new Canon 60D.  I have been using a 30D for the past 3 1/2 years.  With over 200,000 shutter cycles and digital technology moving forward rapidly I decided it was time for an upgrade.  The only disappointment with the 60D so far is actually my fault.  I didn't research it well enough to realize that it used a different remote release than did my 30D.  I consider a remote an essential part of my wildlife photography equipment as simply touching the camera while on a tripod will introduce camera shake which in turn will keep the image from being as sharp as it could be. 

As I crouched behind the camera totally wrapped in camouflage and hidden in the brush surrounding the water the clicking of the shutter was what gave me away.  Cocking his head sideways to get a better view the male hooded merganser soon decided that other parts of the marsh were less crowded and swam away. 

The spring waterfowl migration has become one of my most anticipated annual events, a season that I look forward to with great anticipation, the same anticipation that a child may anticipate Christmas or a hunter anticipate deer season.  Now that "my" season has begun the challenge will be to find enough time to photograph the beautiful travelers as they pass through.

  

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Open Water

The warmer weather we experienced this past week is making short work of the ice covering our waters.  Checking on a local lake today I found that the ice now only covered a portion of it at either end.  Small waves crashing along the lake shore presented an opportunity to play with close-up action shooting.  I used a Canon 24-105mm lens set at 105mm to capture this series of images using different shutter speeds.  The first image was shot at 1/1250 sec.

1/800 sec.

1/6400 sec.

After a winter of snow and ice its nice to see the spring thaw arriving early this year.  Soon I'll be wanting to put the boat on the water but with the lake currently drawn down about eight feet launching may not be possible until repair work is completed and the lake allowed to refill some.  After leaving the lake I headed to a local wetland to find that last week's ice is now gone.  The wetland was bustling with waterfowl activity but photos from that part of my day must wait for a later post.

Signs of the Season

While eating dinner this evening I noticed a grackle singing from the top of an oak tree, my first grackle for the season.  Deciding to take a short sundown stroll after the dishes were done I checked our flowerbeds and found the daffodils just beginning to poke their heads above the soil. 

As my wife and I strolled along we noticed two robins hunting worms along side of our garden, another first for the year.  The sunset this evening was one certainly worth savoring.

The honking of migrating Canada Geese drew our attention to the western sky.  The dark silhouettes moving rapidly across the colorful evening sky vividly tells the story of the changing of the seasons.  

   

Winter Transition

A visit to the wetlands yesterday proved somewhat of a disappointment.  A warm spell last weekend opened some of the water and Canada Geese and a flock of Mallards were present.  Colder weather during the past week had refrozen most of the open areas and the waterfowl had fled.  By shooting directly into the sun the extreme contrast of this shot makes it appear as a black&white.

A shot of the cattails locked in ice appears as though winter still has the wetlands locked in it cold embrace.

However in another spot where the water is very shallow the vegetation has adsorbed enough of the sun's energy to met the ice.

Returning home I passed a small pond where a group of Red-winged Blackbirds were hanging out.  Backing up and pulling off the road I managed this shot from the open car window.  I first noticed the red-winged blackbird's arrival last Saturday.  Looking back through my records over the past few years I see that they are right on time as they typically arrive around the third week of February.

The forecast for this week begins with warm temps and heavy rain tomorrow followed by highs in the 40's and 50's the remainders of the week.  The ice cover present now will most certainly be replaced by waterfowl as they follow the ice-out in their northward journey.

Ice-out: Waterfowl Sightings Increase

With the arrival of warmer temps streams, lakes, and wetlands are beginning to open.  As soon as open water appears waterfowl begins appearing also.  I found this group of Common Mergansers swimming in a stream among the floating ice during last weekend's ice-out

Tiring of the photographers attention the mergansers soon decided to relocate to a more secluded spot on the stream.

Each winter I await the coming of spring with much anticipation.  The spring waterfowl migrations are for me the most exciting part of the season.  During the autumn migrations waterfowl is hunted all along their journey making the birds wary and extremely difficult to photograph.  The spring migration finds the birds much more trusting as nearly all waterfowl hunting seasons are closed.  Let the hunters have the fall, I'll take spring anytime; a time when I can hunt the beautiful birds passing through our area with no competition.

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A Bit of Sun

A young cow elk stands amid the evergreens chewing her cud

When a shaft of sunlight fell on the scene the evergreen boughs sparkled.

Personally I like this second shot for its "cute" factor.  The evergreen framing her face hides both eyes as she totally ignores my presence.  These photos were taken along Rt 555.

Winter's Grasp is Broken

Friday was the warmest day we have had in quite a few months.  During our visit to Pennsylvania's Elk Range we stopped in at Parker Dam State Park.  This scene is from just below the dam.  The rapid snow melt had raised the water level to where the edge of the ice sheet was partially submerged.

At Benezette the scene was incredibly different.  Bennett Branch Sinnemahoning Creek had been covered by a heavy ice sheet.  Now the warmer temperatures and rising water was breaking up the ice forcing it down stream.  At times the creek was full of ice cakes grinding against one another as they drifted downstream.

While at other times the creek flowed nearly free of ice.

Some of ice was forced up on the creek bank where one could better appreciate the full thickness of some of the slabs.

The wind began blowing in the afternoon and as evening approached we began the drive home.  As darkness fell we could still feel the power of the wind as it buffeted our vehicle. 

With a few weeks of winter still ahead cold and snow are certain to return.  The cold spells will be shorter and the new snows will melt quicker as the days continue to lengthen and spring will once again win the battle of the seasons in the never ending cycle of life.

Wrapping up Winter Projects

Earlier I posted a set of Adirondack chairs, footrest and table I built for our outdoor use.  I also completed a set of two chairs and a table intended for our rec room.  I built this set using untreated pine since it won't be exposed to the weather.  Desiring a rustic appearance I decided upon flame-finishing the wood.  As seen in this closeup a propane torch is used to lightly burn the wood.  The softer wood chars first accenting the grain as the harder wood retains its light color.

This image is one of the chairs after having been burned and wiped.

After two coats of satin polyurethane the new rustic Adirondack set is ready for use.

With winter beginning to break up in our area wrapping up my winter projects has not come a minute too soon.  Yesterday while applying water resistant stain to the new Adirondack deck set I heard the song of the Red-winged Blackbird above the roar of the wind; the first for this year.  Today I observed a number of them swaying in the tree tops.  Its time to put the projects behind me and head into the outdoors, camera in hand!