Swans, Geese, and Ducks

For whatever reason, I've always love photographing ducks.  These are the species I have photographed.

Delaware Wildlife Area Birds

Turkey Vulture

This is the ROAD to a boat launch, completely flooded!

Redheads

Canvasbacks

Red-winged Blackbird

Pintail

Redhead

Ring-neck ducks

The flooded Delaware Wildlife area is teeming with waterfowl and other birds right now- it's an amazing place to be.  Yesterday I was able to photograph Canvasbacks for the first time, one of my favorite ducks.

Happy Spring-

Tom

The Shoveler Armada

This afternoon below the dam, Hoover Reservoir, Columbus, Ohio.

And if you like ducks, don't miss the upcoming Waterfowl Symposium being held right here in Columbus, including field trips, some of which will be visiting this very spot.

Wonderful Waterfowl

The valley of Big Walnut Creek, just downstream from Hoover Dam and Reservoir, part of the Big Walnut Audubon Ohio Important Bird area.

In the pool below the dam is one my favorite spots to photograph birds, and last Saturday this area did not dissapoint. The reservoir was frozen, so the the pool below the dam was full of waterfowl.

Common Goldeneye

Hooded Merganser with Fish

Ruddy Duck

Northern Shoveler

Gadwall

Mallard

American Wigeon, Male above, female below

If you haven't discovered how interesting waterfowl can be, the Hoover reservoir is a great place to start. During migration, thousands of ducks raft on the open waters. And in the winter, when much of the reservoir is frozen, just below the dam is a great place for close encounters with our quacky friends.

Tom

Pintail!

Yesterday afternoon, a beautifully sunny and cold central Ohio day, I stopped at Blendon Woods Metroparks to see what had flown in to Thoreau Lake. There are two great unheated observation buildings at the edge of the lake, and they make bird photography really easy. The building to the right is great for feeder birds, and the left building provides the best opportunities for waterfowl. After scanning the ice free areas of the pond, I could only come up with black ducks, mallards, Canada geese, and two gadwals. But then something caught my eye- a bright white neck. Without binoculars, and without being able to view it with the gigantic metal spotting scope in the building because the bird had positioned itself where it was blocked by the corner support of the building, this bird remained a mystery.

In the field, the white belly, brown head, and white neck really stood out. Was it a northern pintail? But it didn't have the typical long pointed butt feathers (technical term please?). Sure enough, after looking at several northern pintail pictures online, I think that is what we have here. But why no long tail? That is the question. Is this a juvenile?

Tom

P.S. This is my 699 post here at the Ohio Nature Blog. Also- We now have 99 followers here. Help me push it over 100!

Tom

Taking the Plunge

I'm gearing up for the waterfowl season, and today, I got an early taste of the action at the Columbus Zoo. I am thinking that this is a female canvasback?

Tom

Capturing Motion

The theme of this post is capturing motion. Two things that have really gotten me into this type of photography- #1 My digital SLR and #2 My photography class that I'm taking right now at Columbus State. I had completely ignored moving subjects until I took this class!

Now, I'm not perfect, and my hardware certainly has some limitations, but I certainly enjoyed capturing movement at Hoover Dam and Blendon Woods Metropark this past Sunday.

When I went to Blendon, there were two serious wildlife "shooters" there. Of cameras, not of guns. They each had bigger lenses than I, so I had a we bit of lens envy shall we say? Well that all ended this evening when I picked up my rental lens for Florida. More specifically, the Canon 400 mm 5.6L. I'll be shooting this with my Rebel XTI, and I can't wait to get pictures with this lens. Florida, here I come. That being said, Megan and I are wicked busy getting ready for this trip. And to make things really complicated, Megan is driving to N.E. Ohio for an interview on Friday, and either coming back Friday night or very early Saturday morning. Throw in Jym Ganahl's prediction of a "possible" six inches of snow Friday night/Saturday morning, and our 11:00 a.m. flight, we are just a we bit busy trying to get everything ready! But it will most certainly be worth it! For now, I hope you enjoy these cold images of Ohio. Here we have a ring billed gull, Canada geese, Scaup (I hope you enjoy this montage), a pair of redheads, and finally, a black duck.



















P.S. Today at my monthly Goodwill browsing session during my lunch break, I picked up a $100.00 Canon scanner that does film and slides, in the box, wrapped in plastic, with the AC adapter and USB 2.0 cord for a whopping $9.99 plus tax. I plugged it in and the lamp comes on, now I'm downloading the drivers and we'll give it a whirl!(I should be packing!).

Tom

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The Fourth Aythya

 

Jim McCormac has great pictures of three Aythya species right next to each other- the ring-necked duck, the greater scaup, and the lesser scaup. This past Martin Luther King Day, I had the fortune to photograph a fourth Aythya species, the redhead (Aythya americana), at Hoover Reservoir.

I really enjoy watching waterfowl during the fall, winter, and spring here in Ohio. It was not until I came to Columbus did I realize that waves of really cool looking ducks make their way through Ohio. I'll never forget the first time I spotted a group of Canvasbacks (the fifth Aythya) on the Cuyahoga River near my home town of Munroe Falls. I was used to the dabbling behavior of mallards, but the canvasbacks dive straight down into the cold water in search of food. They are quite brave.

If you look carefully and click on the picture above to reveal the full image, you will be able to separate the males from the females in this flock. The boys do have red heads, and also have blue bills. The girls are more drab, but interesting none the less. Another name for the redhead is "bluebill". These fascinating creatures are welcome guests here in Ohio. Be sure to check out a large pond or reservoir near you to see winter visitors. And before you head out, take a look at the Ohio Birds ListServ to see where waterfowl are rafting near you.

Have a great weekend!

Tom

Waterfowl Friday

 

 

Mallards, Raccoon Creek, Newark, Ohio, February 2nd, 2008. Click on each image to view a large version.

Waterfowl Friday

A pair of mallards flapping across Hoover Reservoir, near Columbus, Ohio.

Tom

Waterfowl

This past weekend Megan and I went to Blendon Woods Metropark on the northeast side of Columbus for a quick look at waterfowl. I think these birds are really interesting, and it is fascinating that plenty birds travel through Ohio each fall and spring and can be readily seen on the larger water bodies across central Ohio.

At Blendon woods, Megan and I noted this group of gadwall, which was a new bird for me.

 

We also saw, to my novice eye, what looks like a pied-billed grebe. This individual was floating solo on Thoreau Lake.

 

Columbus has quite a few spots that are known for rafts of migrating waterfowl. If you live in the area, Blendon woods is fantastic since the birds are usually quite close to the observation area and the park has two of those gigantic metal encased spotting scopes for all to use. Hoover reservoir is another hotspot, just up the way from Blendon. To know where to go when, visit the Ohio Birds Listserve for daily bird reports from across Ohio.

Tom