Tag: pair

American Black Duck Ballet

Since professional ballerinas are usually strikingly tall and thin, it’s funny to see the rounded figure of a duck extending a leg back into a graceful arabesque.

#mallard, #ducks, #mallardduck, #pose, #leg, #female, #pair, #morninglight, #reflection, #lake, #florida, #naples, #nikon, #tamron, #wildlife, #birds
These American Black Ducks were active at dawn, swimming and mating and hanging out on the lake in Naples, Florida February 2020.

Both ducks are mottled with purple accent feathers on their wings. The male duck with the yellow beak swims on the left below. The female bill is mottled. Smart ducks, they winter near the coast. Their population has fallen, but they are found in the Eastern United States.

#mallard, #ducks, #lake, #color, #swimming, #pair, #female
The same two American Black Ducks in synchronized swimming. Naples FL February 2020.

The Prize Winning Photo

One of these action shots of an osprey pair won first prize in the Royal Poinciana Golf Club’s 2019 Nature Photography contest. In this image, the female osprey is landing in the nest.
In this second image, the female osprey eyes the incoming osprey with a wary eye. You can identify the female with the brown speckles on the white breast feathers.

While I didn’t like the post in the center of the top image, the osprey in flight looked amazing. I like to photograph wildlife in action and let the image tell a story of wildlife behavior when possible. To achieve this, you need a fast shutter speed that will freeze action and produce a sharp image. It helps when the subject is well lit and the photographer is facing away from the sun. There is some luck involved, but practice, practice, practice allows you to be “lucky” and successful more often.

White Pelicans Foraging

Two Great White Pelicans foraging in Ding Darling National Wildlife Preserve. Got one!

Low tide is the perfect time to observe White Pelicans, Brown Pelicans, Great Egrets, Blue Heron and Ibis foraging on Sanibel Island. If you are lucky, you might even see some Roseate Spoonbills. Dozens of these beautiful birds crowded an area where the fish seemed to be concentrated.

The White Pelicans are literally “snow birds” who have flown south to Florida from the northern reaches of the United States for a respite from winter.

At 10:30am, the sun was high in the sky, but the light illuminated the throat pouches on these Great White Pelicans.