The Jewel of the Marsh

The pond held its breath as the Wood duck glided by.

***

Returning to bird photography feels like reconnecting with a language I once knew by heart—a slow rediscovery of the quiet 'why' behind the obsession

 

Generally, life is good.

On the Wings. Weather and Mood

It's a dark overcast morning and there is not enough light to photograph birds in flight.

As luck would have it, one flock of ducks after another takes off.  My shutter speed is slow but I shoot anyway and get blurry ducks.  To my surprise, I like what is happening. 

My first experience with motion blur was completely unexpected and taught me a very important lesson: when there is not enough light, you don't have to despair.

I am always delighted when a male Mallard in flight covers itself with its wings like a cloak.

This Wood duck is sharp, but luckily the tips of its wings are blurred.

Mallards are always beautiful in flight.

Generally, life is good.

Female Wood Ducks on the Beus Pond

I usually photograph male Wood ducks on our local pond because they are not as shy as females but that morning I managed to get a few pictures of a graceful female Wood duck.

What a beauty!

Generally, life is good.

Wood Ducks in Winter - III. Finale

 

Over two last months I was looking occasionally at my photos of Wood Ducks and thought did I capture the spirit, the unique essence of these birds? 

Even if it didn't happen the whole experience watching and photographing Ducks was very rewarding. I learned more about their behavior that morning than I would learn from the books.

A female Wood Duck. 

All female ducks evoke tenderness in me. Something very vulnerable and touching about them.

Generally, life is good!

Wood Ducks in Winter - II. Rivalry

There are more males among Wood Ducks than females and that creates a fierce competition among drakes for mates. 

When a male chooses his mate he will almost never let her be out of his sight and will follow her closely.  Unfortunately, this does not stop other males from encroaching on someone's chosen one and trying to take her away.

On the photo above you can see how the female Wood Duck gives a cold shoulder to the male who isn't her mate.

 

The rival male Wood Duck is planning to "steal" the female, his posture is very aggressive.

Keep going your own way and don't even think about encroaching on my chosen one.

There are certainly better ways to introduce yourself.   

The female Wood Duck is rather surprised than amazed by this aggressive guy.

These two are already paired.  The male now will closely follow his mate and protect her from harassment from other males.  

Generally, life is good!

Wood Ducks in Winter - I.

Watching Wood ducks last Saturday I knew that I would not photograph them floating instead I would try to capture their behavior.

It's easy to say than done. Most Wood ducks were in the water but a few were on icy little island interacting with each other, arguing, preening and just napping. 

After watching Wood ducks for a long time I noticed that the females were often leading and the males were following.  I wonder why? 

The female Wood duck is sharing a space with the female Mallard duck while is flapping her wings.

Another couple is going slowly toward the water.  Walking on ice isn't easy. 

I learned recently that there are more males than females among ducks which creates a fierce competition among drakes for mate. Perhaps, the couples I photographed are paired early and secured their mates.   

The male now will closely follow his mate and protect her from harassment from other males.  

Generally, life is good!

Fly With Me

 

How beautiful, how graceful is a Wood duck in the flight.  

Generally, life is good!

Winter Has Come - II. Inhabitants of Beau Pond

The female and male Wood Ducks are walking on ice toward the water.  Walking on ice isn't easy, it's slippery but ducks are careful and slow.

 

 

His majesty the male Muscovy Duck.  This time he behaved politely and didn't attack me.

The female Wood duck on the left is giving a cold shoulder to the male.

Canada Goose is stretching his wings.

His majesty male Muscovy duck continues to rest in the snow. 

Generally, life is good!

Winter Has Come - I.

 

Wood duck.

This morning was frigid cold.  All the inhabitants of our local pond have forgotten for a while that they are pretty territorial and gathered on a small icy island surrounded by water.  Winter has come, harsh and snowy.

Mallard ducks.

Canada Goose.

Generally, life is good!

They are Relatives

I remember how I was excited when I learned that a Mandarin Duck found its way to the Central Park, New York on October 10.  These ducks are commonly found in China and Japan but not in the United States. Later I also learned that a Mandarin Duck has a relative. It's a Wood duck which is also a beautiful and unique bird.  Yes, these ducks are relatives!

I photographed the Wood ducks at our local pond.

Mandarin duck in the Central Park, New York.  Photograph is from Internet.

Hold Still

Sometimes you wait for the moment to come, you forget about time and space, you are all anticipation and hope. You wait for luck to happen. And if it happens everything falls into its place; the birds are still, no gusts of wind, the water is so calm and if the wind suddenly blows up it's just seems right and not disturbing.

That is exactly what happened when I saw the Mallard duck and the Wood duck. They were still. For a while. They weren't concerned with my presence and let me be with them.

Wood Duck on a Shore

Already a couple.

Wood duck is also known as the Carolina duck.
I always wanted to photograph this bird but didn't have an opportunity.
Today  I was lucky watching these amazing birds.