Thursday morning was very busy at the beaver bog. A pair of wood ducks flew in as I was photographing mallards and a great blue heron. The male wood duck is dark with the stripes and rufus breast. The female is drab brown but has a white patch over her eyes that you can see in one or two of these photos.
Below you will see photos of the mallards. The male has the emerald green head and a white stripe around his neck. The female, again, is drab brown. Both have purple feathers on the back of their wings.
The mallards were paddling about the area where the great blue heron was preening itself for over an hour. They even climbed up on the hummock that the heron was on. None of the birds seemed to be bothered by the other.
The morning sun was brilliant so it was impossible to get the glare of the sun off of the birds. But it was more important for me to capture these moments than to worry about how perfect I could get the shots.
All photos open in a new window, full-size, when clicked.Technorati Tags: Wood duck, Aix sponsa, mallard ducks, Anas platyrhynchos, Great blue heron, Ardea herodias
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You certainly had a pond full of activity. What a gift. Nice captures, especially the heron.
ReplyDeleteIs that near where you live ? what an amazing wildlife you have there ! Beautiful pictures !
ReplyDeletePS and you are right with the Belgian royal family ! Now they start to discuss to support only the king and his heir and not the rest of this big family ! It becomes too expensive and they can work !