![\"\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/common-merganser-8482b-ron-dudley.jpg\" "\\"common-merganser-8482b-ron-dudley\\"")
<\/p>\nI don’t post a lot of ducks but mergansers of any species (there are three of them in North America) are among my favorites.<\/p>\n
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1\/4000, f\/5.6, ISO 400, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/p>\n Ducks in flight are hard. Getting two of them “sharp enough” in the same shot is harder. Just over a week ago these two male Common Mergansers in breeding plumage had just taken off from a local pond. I was lucky enough to capture contrasting wing positions with the birds well separated from each other so the image caught my eye.<\/p>\n I always prefer a light angle that lights up the flashy green iridescence of the male’s head but this time the iridescence eluded me. For me the shadow of the leading bird’s head on his left wing helps to compensate for that shortcoming. It even appears as if that shadow has some delicate and appropriate shading to distinguish the bill from the rest of the head.<\/p>\n Here in northern Utah we’re out of the breeding range of Common Mergansers but I always enjoy them while they’re here.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n Ron<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Note:\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n Happy Birthday Ed Abbey!<\/em><\/p>\n I realize that crotchety ol’ Ed was and remains controversial but he’s been on my short list of heroes since the ’70’s. He did a lot to awaken the environmental movement and two of his books, “The Monkey Wrench Gang” and “Desert Solitaire”, are among my favorites in that genre. <\/em><\/p>\n Hayduke Lives! (I’ve had three “Hayduke Lives” T-shirts over the years if that tells you anything. One hangs in my closet now waiting for warmer weather.)<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I don’t post a lot of ducks but mergansers of any species (there are three of them in North America) are among my favorites.<\/p>\n