This is a fun little sequence, be sure to scroll through to see the series of images.

At a local pond this past Sunday, there were about a dozen juvenile hooded mergansers swimming around. They kept their distance but did provide a fun photo opportunity.

In particular, this young female, put on a nice show. She dives, caught a crawdad, flipped it in the air to properly align it with her throat and then…down the hatch, all in one! I’ve seen many pictures of these ducks doing this and while my pics aren’t anything great (she was a long way away), it was fun to finally capture some of my own.

I dunno, there is something about female hooded mergansers that just really reminds me of the title character in that 1935 horror flick. That crest on the top of the head really looks like the hairdo of Elsa Lanchester in the film. Yeah, I know, I am a little weird sometimes. They are, though, beautiful birds and lots of fun to watch.

Now these are some pretty good looking #ducks. I had heard a bunch of them were hanging out at a suburban pond, catching crawdads off the bottom. While I was there, they made dozens of dives but, unfortunately, all came back empty-handed. Nevertheless, they looked quite handsome with their crest and beautiful plumage.

Check out this handsome fellow. I don’t usually have the patience to photograph ducks as they are just too skittish and I am not one to sit and wait for them to come to me.

One evening last week I stopped by an area open space for a walk and while watching the various birds at the pond, I got lucky and this guy and his mate happened by. It was a pretty long shot and toward the sun and while not great, it is probably the best picture of one of them I have ever gotten.

Hooded merganser males are definitely cool with the bright, white crest that they can raise or lower. I just wish they weren’t so scared of me. 😉 

This was one proud mom! She was kind enough to bring her five #ducklings out for a bit of a parade recently. Four did a good job staying in front where she could watch them. That fifth, well, it was consistently lagging behind lollygagging.  😉

This is the only time of year and the only type of duck that I will dedicate myself to photographing.

Wood duck drakes are extraordinarily handsome and in the fall, the reflections of golden leaves on the water create some cool captures.

Last Saturday I spent a couple hours with these guys and took a ridiculous number of pictures of “just ducks.” They are a far cry from the raptors that I normally photograph but it was well worth the time.

There are few ducks more beautiful than these guys. The wood duck drake is extraordinarily colored and arguably the most colorful bird we see here in Colorado.

They are not as common as other ducks here and they are, generally, a bit skittish. However, there is a suburban park south of Denver where they are known to hang out and they have become quite accustomed to people.

I stopped by yesterday on my way home from my photo shoot and paid them a quick visit. Most of them were content to sleep on a little island in the pond but this guy came out and went for a walk giving me some nice pics.

Not the greatest of weather for photography this morning here in Colorado but it did make for some neat captures. I snapped these ducks as they flew by at the Adams County Fair and Regional Park Complex during a snow squall.

Here is a type of bird you don’t see me take many pics of. I just don’t have the patience to photograph ducks. They are usually quite skittish and I’m not willing to sit and wait for them to come close. Yesterday I got lucky when this handsome fellow flew right by me, giving me a nice capture.