A species I rarely get in flight.
1/3200, f/5.6, ISO 800, Canon R5, Canon EF500mm f/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in
A week ago today at Bear River MBR I was trying, with little success, to photograph American Avocets in flight when this drake Gadwall in eclipse plumage flew in from out of nowhere with the intention of landing on the canal in front of me. I got 22 photos of him in flight and while he was landing but only three of them were sharp enough to see the light of day. Most of them were nearly sharp but ‘nearly’ doesn’t cut it.
In this first shot I caught him right at the horizon line.
1/3200, f/5.6, ISO 800, Canon R5, Canon EF500mm f/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in
Two frames later he was below the horizon and beginning to flare more during his turning approach to his chosen landing spot on the water.
1/3200, f/5.6, ISO 800, Canon R5, Canon EF500mm f/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in
This last shot is quite similar to the previous one (actually, all three photos are similar) but there are some differences and the bird is sharp so I’m including it.
I like the warm morning light in all three photos. My personal favorite overall is #2, but #3 is a close second because I love the way my lens rendered the background bokeh, especially toward the bottom of the frame. A pleasing bokeh is one of the strengths of my particular lens.
Oh, and by the way. Did you happen to notice the midge directly above the head of the Gadwall in one of the photos? It was there and midges are natural so I decided against cloning it out.
Ron
These are lovely, there were many gadwalls at the refuge this morning. The amount of water is amazing, it was so reflective and flat in shallow areas. The water on the road, in the one spot that seems to flood over most, was about 10 inches deep this morning.
Wow, it was only 2-3″ deep when I was there a few days ago. I’ll bet a lot of folks chickened out so you had the place mostly to yourself? If so, I’m jealous.
Yet another delightful series – though my aging/tired eyes missed the midge.
Thanks, EC. It would be easy to miss, aging eyes or not.
I’m with you. #2 is the winner of the three.
Then I declare it so! 🙂
Interesting how the right wing feathers are changing position, all messy in #2 and #3, while the left wing seems perfectly smooth. Like sitting in the plane as it lands and watching the wing seem to fall apart, flaps up, flaps down, wires exposed.
Ha, its been so long since I’ve been on a plane, I don’t remember… 🙂
Beautiful series, Ron. Interesting that although the body and wings change position slightly the duck’s head is steadfast! Focus!
“the duck’s head is steadfast”
I’m glad you pointed that out, Melanie. Birds of all kinds (at least those that can fly) are amazing in the way they do that in flight.
You caught a nice under side of Gadwell Drake. It would be hard to find a nice one in flight, and you sure did. Had to go back to the first photo and look for the midget. I also viewed the Moose, clear sharp pictures. No pun intended.
Thanks, Trudy. Actually, my photos of that moose were a little soft. All of them were that morning and I don’t know why.
In the first photo it looks like he is flying lopsided because he has a left wing shorter than the right.😁
Oops, you caught him with his alulae showing.😁
My eyes usually gloss over when reading the plumages and molts section in BotW (“Definitive Basic (Eclipse) Plumage”; really?) but your link is much more user-friendly for us laypeople.
I think you could put just about anything in front of that bokeh and it would look good.
“you could put just about anything in front of that bokeh and it would look good.”
Lyle, I think background bokeh in bird photos is underrated by most folks when it comes to the overall appeal of the image. It’s one of the reasons I like my lens so much.
Seensational series Ron!
Chrlotte Norton
Thanks, Charlotte.
Checked that old post with the moose and so sad. Fish & Game would have to dart the moose and then have a vet remove them. We used to watch Dr. Oakley Yukon Vet and she was constantly removing the quills from dogs and often dogs who were repeat victims. Hard to understand how a dog who has been quilled would approach a porcupine again.
My uncle on the MT farm had a dog named Toby who never learned a single thing from repeated, disastrous encounters with both porcupines and skunks. The more encounters he had the more he relished the next one.
Knock on wood Paysley hasn’t had a skunk encounter yet! Yes, same either or situation!
These 85 year old eyes missed the midge, but really enjoyed all three photos. Love the colors and think number three is my favorite, but a tough choice to make. And yes I think the bokeh really adds to the photos.
Thanks, Everett. The choice between #2 and #3 is a hard call for me.
Nice! Beautiful shots of what can otherwise seem to be a pretty “dull” duck! 😉 Warm morning light definitely helps with that.
Saw the midge tho just “assumed” it was a spot on my screen…… 😉
Appears I got all the quills as no swelling/sensitivity/weird movements from the dog. Where the porcupine got to is anyone’s guess. 🙁 Being a “blondy” it should be easy to spot in a tree BUT!
Thanks, Judy. I was thinking about your poor dog earlier this morning. I have so many unpleasant memories of dogs and horses getting quilled.
Even a moose once:
https://www.featheredphotography.com/blog/2012/08/03/moose-with-a-snoot-full-of-porcupine-quills/
WOW! They were REALLY in there on the Moose – VERY sad……