Wildlife, landscape and weather photography
This female Mallard Duck was quite content resting in a calm, Denver-area pond a couple of weeks ago. It was an unseasonably warm day and I suspect it isn’t quite so tranquil in that spot today as temperatures here have plummeted as a major system pushed its way in this morning. My thermometer is currently reading 20°. Is it spring yet? 😉
Lately I have posted a few pictures of male wood ducks which are amazingly colorful. The female of the species though is beautiful in their own right. Their iridescent coloring and the yellow ring around their eyes really make them stand out.
This handsome looking wood duck drake seemed to be quite proud of himself this past Saturday. I had never seen these birds in person but was intrigued enough by the opportunity to drive quite a good ways to go to a spot where they frequent. They definitely did not disappoint as they are arguably one of the prettiest water fowl you could imagine.
Check out the complete gallery from my time with them here.
A wood duck flaps its wings to dry off following a quick dive it took chasing a meal.
I’m not normally too much into taking pictures of water fowl but these guys are the coolest. Their colors are just brilliant and they are very entertaining to watch. They aren’t particularly common in the area I live but there is a little hotspot not far away at Sterne Park, Littleton, Colorado where they are known to hang out.
View the complete gallery of images from my photo shoot with the wood ducks below. You can learn more about this colorful duck here.
Normally I prefer to take pictures of birds that I find more interesting like raptors. However on the day this image was taken the action was pretty slow and this photogenic little guy really wanted his picture taken.
This mallard swam by a couple of times and even came ashore to retrieve a snack dropped by a fellow photographer nearby. I snapped this picture as he swam off and really like the image. The water beading on the duck ‘s head, the detail of its fine feathers clearly showing and the glass-like water with the duck’s reflection turned out quite nice.
As a bonus, the green head fits in well for St. Patrick’s Day. 😉 Taken at Golden Ponds in Longmont.
I stopped by the bike path along the South Platte River in Thornton on the way home yesterday. Lots of interesting ducks out there (which I know nothing about). Caught this pair as they took off down the river. I believe these are Northern Pintails.
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