Ruddy Ducks

Ruddy Ducks are compact, diving ducks with short necks and stiff tails that they hold upright quite often. In breeding plumage the males have blue bills, bright white cheek patches, black caps and chestnut colored bodies. The females are brown and have a brown streak across pale cheeks.

Drake Ruddy Duck In Early Breeding Plumage

By |2024-01-20T03:52:38-07:00January 19th, 2024|Categories: Birds, Ruddy Ducks, Salt Lake County, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

I've been paying a lot of attention to a drake Ruddy Duck at my local pond because he has gone into breeding plumage earlier than is normal for this species.

Ruddy Duck Drake – What A Difference 20 Days Makes

By |2024-01-19T04:15:38-07:00December 18th, 2023|Categories: Birds, Ruddy Ducks, Salt Lake County, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Just 20 days can make a big difference in the way this Ruddy Duck drake looks. His bill is a lot bluer now than it was when I first saw him at my local pond.

Drake Ruddy Duck And His Sky Blue Bill

By |2023-04-28T03:43:31-06:00April 28th, 2023|Categories: Birds, Ruddy Ducks, Salt Lake County, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Yesterday morning, I had a real treat photographing a drake Ruddy Duck close to home. He was in his most dapper breeding plumage, including his sky blue bill.

Ruddy Ducks In Flight

By |2021-11-24T06:00:41-07:00November 24th, 2021|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Ruddy Ducks, Salt Lake County, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

A few days ago I saw someone say that they rarely saw photos of Ruddy Ducks in flight and I remembered I had a series of them flying past taken 11 years ago.

World Wetlands Day 2021

By |2024-03-28T06:23:45-06:00February 2nd, 2021|Categories: American Bitterns, American Coots, Bald Eagles, Barn Owls, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Black-crowned Night Herons, Blue-winged Teals, Brewer's Blackbirds, Centennial Valley, Cinnamon Teals, Common Checkered-Skippers, Common Mergansers, Conservation, Eight-spotted Skimmers, Environment, Fish Springs National Wildlife Refuge, Florida, Fort De Soto County Park, Great Blue Herons, Great Egrets, Greater Scaups, Green-winged Teals, Halloween Pennants, Hooded Mergansers, Least Sandpipers, Lesser Scaups, Long-tailed Weasels, Marsh Wrens, Montana, Moose, Muskrats, Northern Harriers, Northern Pintails, Northern Shovelers, Pectoral Sandpipers, Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge, Red-breasted Mergansers, Red-winged Blackbirds, Reddish Egrets, Redheads, Ruddy Ducks, Rusty Blackbirds, Sandhill Cranes, Scarlet Skimmers, Snowy Egrets, Spotted Sandpipers, Tricolored Herons, Trumpeter Swans, Tundra Swans, Utah, Variegated Meadowhawk, White-faced Ibises, Wildflowers, Wilson's Phalaropes, Yellow-crowned Night Herons, Yellow-headed Blackbirds|Tags: , , , , , , , , |

February 2nd is World Wetlands Day to raise global awareness about the critical role of wetlands for people, wildlife and our planet.

Resting Ruddy Duck In A Fog

By |2021-11-24T09:08:57-07:00November 17th, 2019|Categories: Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Ruddy Ducks, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

I'm really glad I looked at these ducks in the fog and decided to take photos of them even though I was looking towards the sun instead of away from it like I typically do when photographing birds.

Some Of The Birds Seen At Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge During The Month of May

By |2024-03-28T06:01:15-06:00May 19th, 2019|Categories: American Avocets, American Bitterns, American Coots, American White Pelicans, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Black-crowned Night Herons, Blue-winged Teals, Box Elder County, Brown-headed Cowbirds, California Gulls, Cinnamon Teals, Clark's Grebes, Cliff Swallows, Forster's Terns, Killdeer, Long-billed Dowitchers, Marsh Wrens, Northern Shovelers, Red-winged Blackbirds, Ruddy Ducks, Savannah Sparrows, Tree Swallows, Utah, Western Grebes, White-faced Ibises, Yellow-headed Blackbirds|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

May is a time of renewal at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge and as the marsh begins to green up the migrant birds return and along with the year round residents their songs and calls can be heard over the wetlands.

Ruddy Duck Drake In Nonbreeding Plumage

By |2021-11-24T09:36:17-07:00January 17th, 2019|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Ruddy Ducks, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Even though this drake Ruddy Duck is small in the frame I liked this image because of the silky blue water, the small wake behind the duck, the direct eye contact and how some of the blue of this drake's bill is visible.

Ruddy Duck Hen in Golden Evening Light

By |2021-11-24T09:49:37-07:00September 18th, 2017|Categories: Birds, Mallards, Ruddy Ducks, Salt Lake County|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

The Ruddy Duck hen was photographed at a pond close to where I live during the evening hours and I loved the golden light on the bird and on the water.

It is Getting Duckier at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge

By |2024-03-26T04:47:20-06:00August 18th, 2015|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Gadwalls, Redheads, Ruddy Ducks, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Over the past couple of weeks I have noticed that Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge is getting duckier. I am seeing more ducks in the water and flying over head now than I had in July.

Ruddy Duck Hen

By |2021-11-24T11:28:15-07:00February 7th, 2015|Categories: Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Ruddy Ducks, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

This series of Ruddy Duck images took just a little less than 8 seconds and then she tucked her bill back under her scapular and closed her eyes again.

Photos that make me laugh – Ruddy Duck female

By |2021-11-24T08:40:44-07:00December 6th, 2013|Categories: Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Ruddy Ducks, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Some times when I open a photo I took I can't help but laugh for various reasons, in this case when I opened the file the pose of this Ruddy Duck female just "quacked" me up.

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