When I was sharing my favorite images of waterfowl a couple of days ago, I somehow managed to overlook this handsome male mallard I recently spotted in Nice (Lake County). As I was leaving our rooms at 8:30 to make a run to the nearby supermarket, there he was standing on one foot atop what I could only assume was […]
I was all alone, standing in a shady spot along the empty trail beside Turtle Pond, watching the Red-winged blackbirds and shooting pictures with my big lens. I’m not sure why, but I happened turn my head and glance back up the path to my far right — and found this duck standing there, just… watching me. I wouldn’t say I’ve suddenly developed anatidaephobia; but let’s just say Gary Larson’s cartoon is starting to make a lot more sense!
I have frequently admired the blue-green iridescence of the male Mallards’ heads, so it was a nice surprise yesterday to get a glimpse of royal purple on these relatively drab females. I was sitting in my car in Lucerne, on the shore of Clear Lake, when a small group of Mallards settled down very nearby. I think we were all […]
As I strolled along Lakeshore Boulevard in Nice, looking out over Clear Lake, I couldn’t help but notice that someone seemed to have forgotten to bring in their seating arrangement from the launch ramp area. Nobody but me seemed the least bit interested in this chair; it seemed the most natural thing in the world for it to be standing […]
For a long time, I was purposely avoiding shooting photos of ducks and geese with their tails in the air. Still, after a fragment of poetry from my childhood began running through my head, I decided to start looking for photo ops like the one above. Someone must have let it slip to the birds, though, because they suddenly seem […]
This curious little explorer decided to venture off on his own, leaving Mom far behind.
My challenge every morning is to get myself out of bed and then out the front door at just the right time — that is, early enough that the sun isn’t up yet but not so early that I might run into any grumpy nocturnal creatures. I think it’s going to take awhile for me to settle on the perfect […]
Mallard pairs form long before the spring breeding season. Pairing takes place in the fall, but courtship can be seen all winter. Only the female incubates the eggs and takes care of the ducklings — All About Birds
