Northern Shovelers blasting off because of an eagle flyby, Antelope Island State Park, Davis County, UtahBack lit Northern Shovelers  blasting off – Nikon D200, f6.3, 1/2000, ISO 400, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light

This morning I went to Antelope Island State Park in northern Utah to look around and see what birds I might find there to photograph today. After you have gone through the park entrance there is a seven mile long causeway to get to the island. In spring and summer you will find the shores along the causeway filled with thousands of shorebirds, a variety of gulls, American Kestrels, ducks, grebes and more. In the winter there are fewer species of birds present along the causeway but quite often there will be large flocks of ducks.

This morning when I had almost reached the island I spotted a huge flock of ducks blasting off from the water and behind them one Bald Eagle which is apparently the reason the ducks lifted off. Despite the scene being back lit; which can be a challenging exposure, I took some images of the hundreds of ducks blasting off from the Great Salt Lake.

This was one of a few images where I had the sense to drop my camera some to show the ducks still on the water taking flight and the water splashing up towards the shovelers that were already in flight.  I liked this image when I first previewed it on my LCD screen and was anxious to get it uploaded so I could view it on my monitor. I liked this photo even more when I could see it “big” and could make out that the majority of the ducks in the image are Northern Shovelers.

I’m glad I took the shots and didn’t pass up this opportunity to create this photo.

Life is good.

Mia

Click here to see more of my Northern Shoveler photos plus facts and information about this species.