{"id":100354,"date":"2022-03-03T05:22:05","date_gmt":"2022-03-03T12:22:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=100354"},"modified":"2023-09-28T05:18:54","modified_gmt":"2023-09-28T11:18:54","slug":"lesser-scaup-hen-and-drake-at-bear-river-mbr","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2022\/03\/03\/lesser-scaup-hen-and-drake-at-bear-river-mbr\/","title":{"rendered":"Lesser Scaup Hen And Drake At Bear River MBR"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"LesserLesser Scaup hen flapping her wings \u2013 Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/1600, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

On my last trip up to Bear River MBR<\/span><\/a> I had a brief opportunity to photograph a Lesser Scaup hen next to the auto tour loop as she flapped her wings. I don’t seem to get as many female Lesser Scaup in my viewfinder as I do males so I took full advantage of the opportunity. The hen scaup had been floating on the open water next to a drake. When she moved away from him I could tell by her behavior that she was going to flap her wings so I was ready when she did.<\/p>\n

Although I wish there hadn’t been other birds in the background I do like that I can make out the coot and a goldeneye behind the female scaup on a shelf of ice.<\/p>\n

\"LesserLesser Scaup drake at Bear River MBR \u2013 Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/1600, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

The Lesser Scaup<\/span><\/a> drake was just outside of the right side of the frame when I took the photo of the hen. He was just calmly floating on the water.<\/p>\n

Both the hen and drake Lesser Scaup were in their breeding or is it is also known Alternate plumage. They may or may not have been a mated pair. Lesser Scaup pair up later than many other duck species. Some range maps indicate that Lesser Scaup breed in extreme northern areas of Utah. I have seen and photographed these scaups on their breeding grounds in Montana.<\/p>\n

I was delighted to photograph both the hen and drake Lesser Scaups at the refuge three days ago. The scaups along with the other birds I saw and photographed were part of a wonderful and relaxing morning at the refuge.<\/p>\n

Life is<\/em> good.<\/p>\n

Mia<\/p>\n

Click here<\/span><\/a> to see more of my Lesser Scaup photos plus facts and information about this species.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On my last trip up to Bear River MBR I had a brief opportunity to photograph a Lesser Scaup hen next to the auto tour loop as she flapped her wings.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":100348,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[124,27,1148,2681,26],"tags":[4004,2682,4753,4483,1129,126,4070,6239,4359,4064,4564,4062,4094,6400,6401,3996,2063,4095,4489,5498,373],"class_list":["post-100354","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bear-river-migratory-bird-refuge","category-avian","category-box-elder-county-utah","category-lesser-scaups","category-utah","tag-adult","tag-aythya-affinis","tag-diving-ducks","tag-drake","tag-duck","tag-ducks-2","tag-female","tag-flapping","tag-hen","tag-ice","tag-lesser-scaup","tag-male","tag-marsh","tag-scaup","tag-scaups","tag-water","tag-waterfowl","tag-wetlands","tag-wing-flap","tag-wings","tag-winter"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/lesser-scaup-hen-wing-flap-mia-mcpherson-7243.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-q6C","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":97707,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2021\/11\/28\/help-with-drake-scaup-identification\/","url_meta":{"origin":100354,"position":0},"title":"Help With Drake Scaup Identification","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"November 28, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Every fall and winter when Lesser and Greater Scaups are seen in northern Utah I hear questions about scaup identification.","rel":"","context":"In "Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge"","block_context":{"text":"Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/bear-river-migratory-bird-refuge\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Winter drake Lesser Scaup, Salt Lake County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/lesser-scaup-drake-winter-mia-mcpherson-6489.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/lesser-scaup-drake-winter-mia-mcpherson-6489.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/lesser-scaup-drake-winter-mia-mcpherson-6489.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/lesser-scaup-drake-winter-mia-mcpherson-6489.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":139526,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2025\/02\/08\/drake-lesser-scaup-on-the-great-salt-lake\/","url_meta":{"origin":100354,"position":1},"title":"Drake Lesser Scaup On The Great Salt Lake","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"February 8, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"This morning, I'm sharing two winter drake Lesser Scaup photos I took three years ago today from the causeway to Antelope Island State Park in Utah.","rel":"","context":"In "Antelope Island State Park"","block_context":{"text":"Antelope Island State Park","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/antelope-island-state-park\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Winter drake Lesser Scaup on the Great Salt Lake, Antelope Island State Park, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/lesser-scaup-drake-mia-mcpherson-9033.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/lesser-scaup-drake-mia-mcpherson-9033.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/lesser-scaup-drake-mia-mcpherson-9033.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/lesser-scaup-drake-mia-mcpherson-9033.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":119952,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2024\/01\/20\/ring-necked-duck-and-an-odd-lesser-scaup\/","url_meta":{"origin":100354,"position":2},"title":"Ring-necked Duck And An Odd Lesser Scaup","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"January 20, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Seven days ago I found a Ring-necked Duck and an odd Lesser Scaup drake at my local pond. The scaup puzzled me and I wondered if he might be a hybrid.","rel":"","context":"In "Bird ID"","block_context":{"text":"Bird ID","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/bird-identification\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Ring-necked Duck and an odd Lesser Scaup, Salt Lake County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/ring-necked-duck-and-weird-scaup-mia-mcpherson-1489.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/ring-necked-duck-and-weird-scaup-mia-mcpherson-1489.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/ring-necked-duck-and-weird-scaup-mia-mcpherson-1489.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, 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