Waughop Lake

I managed to get out to Lake Waughop yesterday afternoon and, luckily, the sunshine seemed to follow me there, clearing out the clouds just about the time I arrived. I’m always amazed by what I see there because one time you’ll see one kind of duck and the next time you’ll only see another kind of duck, except for the Mallards and gulls, which seem to be year-round residents.

Wednesday there was the largest flock of Ring-Necked Ducks I’ve ever seen, which included this pair:.

Ring-Necked Duck Pair

It’s taken me quite a while to learn the correct name for these ducks, since I always recognize them by the rings around their “bill” and really can’t distinguish a ring around their neck.

Perhaps they avoided naming it Ringed-Billed to avoid confusion with this Ring-Billed Gull which was also frequenting the lake.

Ring-Billed Gull

The hardest shot of the day was this one of what I think is a female Ruddy Duck, though I’m not sure if male Ruddy Ducks have changed into their mating colors yet.

female Ruddy Duck

It was extremely shy, diving quickly anytime I pointed a lens at him.