A nice walk along the South Platte River north of Denver, Colorado and the waterfowl was quite abundant. As usual they didn’t care too much to pose for me but I grabbed a couple pics as they flew by. I’m not sure what kind of ducks the first pair are. The second are Mallards though.

I don’t normally take pictures of ducks as most tend to be quite skittish and I don’t have the patience to do the work required to get close. Yesterday however, this male Common Merganser swam right by where I was sitting on the shore of a pond. He looked pretty darned cool so I of course had to take a few pics of him.

Water fowl rarely draw the attention of my camera but the one exception that will always have me clicking are Wood Ducks. Their iridescent, colorful plumage is simply too beautiful to ignore. There is pond in the southern suburbs of Denver where they make an appearance every fall. I haven’t been there in a couple years and am long overdue to pay them a visit. This image was taken in October 2014.

Ducks take to the trees. It isn’t too often you see a duck hanging out in the tree but here you go. Wood Ducks are a bit different from most waterfowl is that they do actually perch and nest in trees. While I have photographed them before, it has always been in a more traditional setting like swimming on a pond.

On Sunday while hanging out along the South Platte River I noticed a number of these guys flying around and landing in the trees. It certainly seemed out of place. The terrain prevented me from getting a better look but I managed a few, distant captures.

These images don’t do a good job showing it but Wood Ducks, particularly the drakes (males), truly are some of the most colorful ducks you can imagine.

Water fowl rarely draw the attention of my camera but the one exception that will always have me clicking are Wood Ducks. Their iridescent, colorful plumage is simply too beautiful to ignore. These images are a sampling of those I took while watching them at Sterne Park in Littleton, Colorado a few weeks ago. The males, pictured here, draw most of the attention although females are pretty in their own right.

You can read more about these cool ducks here.

I am not one to normally seek out ducks for pictures but when these colorful creatures come to town, I do my best to pay them a visit. Wood Ducks visit a park south of Denver each fall for a few weeks and yesterday I had the opportunity.

They are extraordinarily beautiful and one of the most colorful waterfowl, especially the male pictured here. Females’ coloring is quite a bit more subdued but still beautiful in their own right. Wood Ducks are one of the few waterfowl that actually are comfortable nesting and perching in trees.

There is a little park in a suburb of Denver where Wood ?Ducks? are known to frequent. I took a quick trip down there yesterday afternoon and unfortunately there weren’t many to be found – in fact only this one.

While she was quite beautiful, I really was hoping to get some images of the males as they are amazing and it has been a year since I have captured images of any. Nevertheless, as always, it was great just to get out and take some pics.

This is half of a brood of juvenile Mallard Ducks that was swimming across a pond this past weekend. While not ducklings anymore, they are still pretty darned cute and the one raising its head seemed to be showing off for the camera.

Well, this was a bit of a surprise. I have a basic backyard bird feeder with safflower feed. To date haven’t seen much beyond house finches and doves.

Last week, after I left for work, my kids said there were two ducks in the yard. Yesterday, the pair stopped by briefly in the rain but I didn’t have time to grab my camera. Tonight, they came again and hung out for 15 minutes or so and I was able to sit out on the porch and take some pics.

They ate some of the seed that had fallen into the grass, waddled around, and then took off. It was already pretty dark thanks to the clouds and evening sun (or lack thereof) so the pics aren’t all that great. No water to speak of near me in suburbia so I’m not sure why they have chosen my backyard. Guess they just like the seed. 😉 Lots of fun to watch although my dogs weren’t too happy with the guests.