Fall Redhead Drake Photos

On a cold morning two days ago, I had two Redhead drakes in my viewfinder at my local pond. the light was lovely and so were the ducks.

Fall Redhead drakes swimming together – Nikon D500, tripod mounted, f8, 1/1000, ISO 640, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light

At first, I focused on getting photos of the male ducks together as they slowly swam around the pond in their breeding plumage. The autumn-hued reflections in this frame caught my eye.

Two Redhead drakes in fall – Nikon D500, tripod mounted, f8, 1/1000, ISO 640, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light

And in this frame, the drakes stood out well from the darker area of the water. I enjoyed the reflections of these ducks on the water as much as I enjoyed the ducks themselves.

Drake Redhead and autumn reflections – Nikon D500, tripod mounted, f10, 1/1000, ISO 640, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light

When the drakes split up for a bit, I was able to focus on taking images of them one at a time for a few minutes.

Homes and trees near the pond can make for some interesting and lovely reflections on the water. The reflections on the water appealed to me in this photo.

Adult Redhead drake swimming in a pond – Nikon D500, tripod mounted, f10, 1/6400, ISO 640, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light

And in this frame of one of the drakes did too. The blue sky overhead reflected on the low bow wave in front of the duck and behind him too.

Redhead drake duo on an urban pond – Nikon D500, tripod mounted, f10, 1/500, ISO 640, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light

When a fisherman walked close to where I stood with a noisy cart, the ducks moved away. I focused on taking more photos of the two of them together again.

Redhead drakes bill to bill – Nikon D500, tripod mounted, f10, 1/1250, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light

Both ducks began diving underwater in search of food. In this photo, one emerged with food while the other surfaced with an empty bill. I liked how it looked like their bills were crossed in this photo.

Drake Redhead with a bill full of food – Nikon D500, tripod mounted, f10, 1/1250, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light

I burst into laughter while capturing this image—how could I not? The drake’s bill was packed with so much aquatic vegetation that about a dozen comedic captions ran through my mind.

Redhead drake after taking a drink of water – Nikon D500, tripod mounted, f10, 1/640, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light

It looked liked the drake was talking and saying something out loud in this frame with his bill open. He had just finished a drink of water.

It does not take much to amuse me.

Redhead drake food fight – Nikon D500, tripod mounted, f10, 1/500, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light

These last two photos of the Redhead drakes are part of a series I took showing the drake on the right snatching food from the drake on the left.

Redhead drakes fighting over food – Nikon D500, tripod mounted, f10, 1/500, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light

The tug-of-war food fight between the two drakes once again made me laugh out loud. I am not aware of having seen this behavior in this species of duck before, so I was delighted to have captured it in my photos.

Speaking of food, I don’t anticipate many tug-of-war food fights happening at tables across the country today. Instead, I hope everyone relishes the bounty on their tables and the company seated with them.

Today, I’ll miss hearing my mom’s voice. We usually spoke on the phone first thing to discuss our holiday plans. It’s my first Thanksgiving without her.

I wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving.

Life is good.

Mia

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