That early winter morning at the Great Salt Lake was full of surprises. I didn't expect to find such a diverse selection of ducks and felt lost at the beginning.
Photographing the ducks I have never seen before was thrilling but later I had to identify them. Looking closely at the ducks heads, eyes, bills and tails I often couldn't tell apart one duck from another and at some point even thought about taking a course online to learn more about ducks.
I believe that on the photo above two ducks with dark brown heads are Great Scaups. Their heads are more rounded and have the peaks, their bills are slightly curvy. Lesser Scaups have a taller and narrower head and more straight-sided bill.
The Greater Scaup is landing.
The adult breeding Greater Scaup.
Another Greater Scaup.
I see often entire flocks of ducks flying in and out and over the water but to identify them is a skill I didn't reached yet. Hopefully, some day I will be better at it.
Generally, life is good!
Bellas fotos de esos patos. Con mucha nitidez y grandes detalles.
ReplyDeleteUn abrazo y cuidate.
They appear slightly smaller than european ducks, but are strong.
ReplyDeleteSon muy agradables de ver, disfrutando del agua.
ReplyDeleteMe gusta mucho la segunda fotografía, por la buena composición del grupo.
Besos
Maravillosas fotos Kaya, son increíbles. Feliz semana. Besos.
ReplyDeleteKaya, I think your identifications are right. In the first picture there are two Greater Scaups and two Northern shovelers ... ;-)
ReplyDeleteBonitas foto de los patos Kaya, ese azul del agua es pura belleza.
ReplyDeleteSaludos.