Wednesday, March 25, 2009

blue-winged teal

Well done Jason, you were right - they were indeed blue-winged teal. The blue really is spectacular in flight. These are rather flighty here so unfortunately I see them in flight more than I'd like (as they generally take everything else to the far side of the pond with them as soon as I arrive).

drakelanding

Eventually a couple of them came back round and landed. The drake is above, the duck below.

landingduck

Very smart birds these; both in flight and swimming.

bwtpair

What with these and the white-cheeked pintail (in the background) the pond looks rather ornamental at times.....if one can get past the smell, the mosquitos and the brown goo.

2 comments:

jason said...

Wow! These teal photos are marvelous. I'm in total agreement: they're spectacular creatures... simply beautiful.

I know how difficult this species is to photograph--as you say, they're flighty. And being a small bird doesn't help.

Thanks for suffering through the mosquitoes and the smell so you could capture these exquisite images and share them here.

Anonymous said...

Thanks Jason! I'm pleased to know I'm not the only one who finds them difficult to shoot [with a camera]