water fowl

Ring-necked Duck Drake

By Mia McPherson, on November 23rd, 2012%

Ring-necked Duck drake – Nikon D200, tripod mounted, f8, 1/800, ISO 250, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light, not baited

I photographed this drake Ring-necked Duck in breeding plumage a few years ago on a pond not far from where I live. He was a “one day wonder”, meaning it was the only day I found him on the pond. Lesser and Great Scaup drakes look similar but Ring-necked Duck males are easy to tell apart from them because of the white outline on the bill and the white spur on the flank.

I’m able to use a tripod at this pond and get close to the birds because they are habituated to human foot traffic at the pond. I use a Carbon Fiber tripod and a Gimbal style Jobu Black Widow head.

Mia

Cackling Geese

By Mia McPherson, on April 27th, 2011%

Cackling Goose (Branta hutchinsii) with Canada Goose (Branta canadensis) behind it

Cackling Goose (Branta hutchinsii) with Canada Goose (Branta canadensis) behind it
Davis County, Utah
Nikon D200, f6.3, 1/1500, ISO 400, +0.3 EV, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light

Last week I spotted a bird that isn’t usually here in Utah this late in migration, a Cackling Goose. I was getting set up to photograph some Black-necked Stilts when an goose caught my eye in a flooded field. I stopped looking at the stilts and focused on the goose. As you can see in the photo above the goose in the front is much smaller than the goose in the back and its bill is shorter too.

Cackling Goose (Branta hutchinsii) with mallard behind it

Cackling Goose (Branta hutchinsii) with mallard behind it
Davis County, Utah
Nikon D200, f6.3, 1/1600, ISO 400, +0.3 EV, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light

In the image above the goose is in front of a male mallard and it is not much larger than the duck. It was already late in the day so the light was not great. The images I took weren’t the best but I was trying to get images of it with other birds in the frames so I could compare the sizes.

Cackling Goose (Branta hutchinsii) walking along a flooded field

Cackling Goose (Branta hutchinsii) walking along a flooded field
Davis County, Utah
Nikon d200, f7.1, 1/1000, ISO 400, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light

The goose swam towards the edge of the water and walked up in the ground giving me a better look at the length of the legs and the lower body.

Cackling Goose (Branta hutchinsii) foraging

Cackling Goose (Branta hutchinsii) foraging
Davis County, Utah
Nikon D200, f7.1, 1/1000, ISO 400, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light

I suspected that the bird was a Cackling Goose so I posted a few images of it on the UBIRD discussion forum and several people there told me that it was what I had suspected. A lifer bird for me.

I would love to see more Cackling Geese, hopefully in great light.

The sounds of Fall

By Mia McPherson, on August 15th, 2010%

Canada Geese on Glover Pond
Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Davis County, Utah
Nikon D200, f13, 1/160, ISO 400, 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm

This morning I can hear Canada Geese (Branta canadensis) overhead after a hot summer when I have heard few. Listening to them I realize that soon summer will end and the colorful season of fall will begin. When I hear the geese calling I think of brisk mornings, the sound of their wings and flocks flying in their V formation.

Many species of birds will migrate through on their way to their wintering grounds and the birds that we see here in winter will slowly start to trickle in. I’m looking forward to seeing more raptors, ducks and geese.

Canada Goose lift off
Farmington Bay WMA, Davis County, Utah
Nikon D200, f7.1, 1/800, ISO 320, 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm

I will miss the birds I see in the summer, the Loggerhead Shrikes, Long-billed Curlews, Sage Thrashers and more but I am looking forward to more opportunities with the common but delightful Canada Geese.

Mia

More of my Canada Geese images