Tag Archives: ducks

migration, spring, Troy's Blog, wildlife

Spring Duck Migration is Underway

It was one of the few nice days so far this spring. There was a lot to do at home but my camera kept whispering my name. Ignoring it at first, I continued on with my list of things to do but as the day continued, the call became louder and louder. Admitting I had not really used the camera much in awhile, I finally decided to accept the continual suggestions and head out to an area park. Knowing it would probably be busy as many people wanted to get out and enjoy the beautiful day, I thought through where I would go. After much thinking, I decided on a park a little further away hoping the ice would now be off some of the smaller ponds and wildlife would be starting to make their way north.

Beautiful Drake Woodduck

Pulling into the county park I had chosen, the parking lot was surprisingly open. There were several vehicles there but people were returning from their hikes and leaving. This should turn out to be a quieter adventure than I was expecting which would be nice. Now parked I switched my shoes to warmer boots since I was expecting to sit in one location for some time and the ground was still cold. Grabbing my backpack holding the camera gear and some warmer clothing should it be needed along with some food, I began my hike to the pond. Along the way I decided to travel through a small forest in search of mushrooms. They weren’t showing a week ago and today was no different. One more stop to the prairie  along the way to check for Pasque Flowers. They were beginning to grow now and would be in full bloom soon. Now on to the edge of the pond which I could see the ice was gone and ducks littered the surface.

Bufflehead swimming in the golden glow of a setting sun

Meandering through trees at the edge of the pond I found a nice spot to perch in between two larger trees. The camera was set upon my tripod and I was ready. With all of this activity the ducks had moved to the farther end of the  pond but I knew they would be back in time. Trying to remain mostly still I just sat and observed these waterfowl for awhile. Eventually they began to venture back to where I was sitting gathering food for their journey to their northern nesting grounds. Ring-necked ducks were the first to work their way closer and I expected to see these here as I’ve seen them a number of times in years past. Mixed in with them were a few Buffleheads which I wasn’t really expecting but happy to see. A couple of Pied-billed Grebes swam back and forth. While trying to capture a few images of them, a Ring-neck pheasant took off from right in front of me. I had no idea he was even there. How could I have missed it? What was even more surprising was it stayed that close to me for nearly an hour before scrambling to the air. That’s not typical for a pheasant. Of course there were the expected Wood ducks and even a few coots. As the sunlight was began to fade, a Sandhill Crane decided to land at the edge of this pond, probably for the night.

Sandhill Crane with a pair of coots swimming by

I had enjoyed this afternoon out photographing wildlife but the sun was now at the horizon and with it, my light for shooting wildlife. Packing up I was hoping to witness a colorful sunset. I climbed to the top of a nearby hill and watched as the sun continued to dip under the horizon. There wasn’t much of a show except for one small area in the landscape and I wasn’t in a good place to photograph it. Beginning my hike back to the car, the clouds on the opposite horizon began to produce a soft, pink glow. A beautiful way to mark the end of this wildlife adventure.

While walking I began to wonder if the owl I had photographed in this area a few times last year was back. There was no sign if it on this trip. I returned to the car now anticipating the warmth of the engine. Cold had started to return to the air with a stronger breeze pushing it through my clothes. With a slight shiver I began drive home with a smile having enjoyed an increasingly rare afternoon in a park.

A nice soft pink glo from the setting sun

Photos, Troy's Blog, wildlife

Enjoying the Migration

One of my favorite things to watch in the spring are birds that are just passing through. That’s when we get to see the most diversity, and usually in their brightest colors. I try to get to a lake close by to see the sun rise above the horizon and watch wildlife begin their daily activities. Once people walk or run by with some consistency I know it’s time to head for home for the day. On one of these recent trips I noticed an Eagle fly up into a tree nearby. At first I lost sight of it. After moving in one direction and then another I spotted where it was perched but was quite certain I could not get there which would require walking almost directly underneath it. Another person strolled by and I pointed the camera in the general direction of the large bird expecting it to fly once she approached it. To my surprise it didn’t move so I began to walk in that direction also. I needed to get on the other side of it because the sun was coming from the wrong direction where I was and there were too many branches for a good photograph.

A young eagle watching over the pond

Keeping an eye on the eagle without actually looking directly at it, I moved to a better location with better light shining on the bird now. Attempting to appear as though I wasn’t interested in the eagle, I watched out over the lake for a few minutes. Once it began scanning the lake again I lifted the camera and focused for a few photos. With me on one side pointed a camera towards it and another person walking from the opposite direction proved too much for this eagle as it quickly departed. I never like to be the cause of wildlife having to move and was disappointed to have made it uncomfortable requiring it to fly away. Most likely, in this situation, it would have occurred anyway as people increased in numbers at this park with their dogs but I would have like a few more photos. Especially of an eagle capturing breakfast.

A small flock of Buffleheads landing

On a previous trip to this same park I was fortunate to capture a small group of Bufflehead ducks coming in for a landing. Things lined up perfectly in this instance with them approaching from across the lake right in front of me. As they got closer they turned and landed in the water with the sunlight in the opposite direction. That almost never happens and if it does the focus seems to get lost somewhere along the way. This particular group of Buffleheads seemed to stay in the area for awhile which I’ve not seen in previous years. It seems a little odd as more people frequent the area currently. And of course, what would be a trip to the lake without capturing a mallard? Especially one that comes right to the edge of the water in front of me.

A Mallard swimming by to say hello

While working with the mallard I notices several smaller birds flittering quickly among the trees above me. Eventually a few worked their way to the lower branches where I could capture a photo of them. As I expected, they turned out to be yellow rumped warblers which is a bird I frequently see during the early spring season as they make their way north. They’re always fun to watch and have some nice coloration bouncing from branch to branch and tree to tree. Hopefully there will be many other opportunities this spring to enjoy more migrating birds yet as the weather continues to warm up.

Yellow Rumped warbler walking on a tree limb

Photos, Troy's Blog, wildlife

Duck Migration is Here

Over the past couple of weeks I’ve been in pursuit of ducks beginning to move south stopping by local lakes to rest and feed before moving on. In this particular area there have been flocks of hundreds of ducks making it very enticing to set up the camera and wait for them to move closer.

Widgeon coming in for a landing

It’s been fun to photograph them and then try and identify what type of duck it is afterwards. This particular flock of ducks has included Widgeons, Gadwall, Mallards, Wood ducks, and one immature pintail. They sure are pretty to watch with the different colors and patterns as well as listen to. Each with a unique sound identifying the species further.

Widgeon swimming along

While most of the ducks on this particular lake seem to be widgeons there are some gadwalls mixed into the flock. I wasn’t sure at first if it was a different duck or if it was just an immature widgeon still coloring up. Looking further I noticed the bill on the gadwalls is darker than with widgeons. Also the white spot on the back of the duck is different and the head has slightly different colorations confirming a different species later identified as gadwalls. Ohh and they make a different sound which helped figure this out.

Gadwall floating by

Included in all these ducks are, of course, mallards which tend to be very plentiful on most bodies of water in Minnesota and elsewhere. One of the nice things of having mallards around is other ducks see them and figure it’s a safe place to land with food available so join them. The mallard below was shaking off water after spending time under the surface looking for food.

Mallard stretching out of the water

One of the unique ducks in this particular flock is an immature pintail. I wasn’t completely sure of this immediately because the coloration is different from the others but not as well defined as the photos I was comparing it too. A couple of things that helped I.D. it was when it tipped into the water in search of food the tail was more of a point and more pronounced than the widgeons and gadwalls but still lacked the characteristic long pin tail giving these there name. Also the colors on it’s head, while not completely developed, still matched well with the pictures I was comparing it to leading me to figure out this is a young pintail. This duck has continued to stay with this flock for the past couple of weeks with no other pintails in sight.

A young Northern Pintail

I’ve definitely been enjoying photographing each of these different species and hopefully will be able to catch a few more before these lakes freeze over.