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:.
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.
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.
It was extremely shy, diving quickly anytime I pointed a lens at him.
Loren,
I counted 450 Ring-necks on Monday and 300 Northern Shovelers. I also discovered 2 male Redheads the previous week that would make good targets for your 500 mm lens.
One of the reasons I went was your post on Tweeters, John.
I searched the flock but couldn’t find a single Redhead, despite carrying my 700mm (500*1.4) lens and tripod all the way around the lake. I even met a lady who saw you the same day, and she said that she hadn’t seen them since then.
That’s too bad. I saw them on Monday and two people on ebird have reported seeing them after I posted on Tweeters. I took a bunch of pictures for Identification purposes, but they were at the extreme range of my 300 mm lens.
We have ruddy ducks here in the UK now Loren – I believe they were introduced but are now becoming something of a menace and threatening our indigenous ducks.
You’d think by now that people would know enough not to introduce ANY foreign species into the environment, wouldn’t you, pat?
loren – do you think that animals sense they’re being photographed? i wonder . . . . . steven
I know they’re certainly aware of the lens and move away. Not sure if they distinguish between danger, from hunters, and photographers, though.
If you look away, sometimes you actually come up with better shots.
I don’t have anything deep or meaningful to say, I just wanted you to know that I’m still around, and still enjoying your wonderful wildlife photographs!
Appreciate that ThomasLB. I’m glad to see that you’ve recently started blogging again. Sometimes a little time off can be rewarding.