{"id":109661,"date":"2023-01-17T04:36:55","date_gmt":"2023-01-17T11:36:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=109661"},"modified":"2024-01-19T05:36:56","modified_gmt":"2024-01-19T12:36:56","slug":"ruddy-duck-drake-close-to-home","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2023\/01\/17\/ruddy-duck-drake-close-to-home\/","title":{"rendered":"Ruddy Duck Drake Close To Home"},"content":{"rendered":"

The last time I was at my neighborhood pond I spotted a Ruddy Duck drake out in the middle of the water who was starting to transition into breeding plumage. I had cruddy light and not enough focal length to photograph that duck. Seeing that drake reminded me of these two photos taken almost two years ago.<\/p>\n

\"RuddyRuddy Duck drake transitioning into breeding plumage \u2013 Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/2500, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

Ruddy Duck drakes transition into breeding plumage later in the year than most other adult male ducks on North America. Usually by late January to early February I can begin to see the bright blue coloration in their bills and more rusty to rufous tones to their plumage.<\/p>\n

\"UrbanUrban Ruddy Duck drake \u2013 Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/2000, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

Drake Ruddy Ducks have snow white cheeks which stand out sharply from their bright blue bills when they are transitioning into or are in full breeding plumage.<\/p>\n

I’m hoping the drake Ruddy Duck<\/span><\/a> at my local pond sticks around and that I will be able to photograph it when the sun is shining. Next week there might be some sunshine that lasts longer than a few minutes. Fingers crossed on the light and that the duck hangs around!<\/p>\n

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

Mia<\/p>\n

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

The last time I was at my neighborhood pond I spotted a Ruddy Duck drake out in the middle of the water who was starting to transition into breeding plumage.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":109656,"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":[27,2397,709,26],"tags":[4004,4053,4753,4483,1129,126,4062,2398,1984,2447,13636,8018,3996,373],"class_list":["post-109661","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-avian","category-ruddy-ducks","category-salt-lake-county-utah","category-utah","tag-adult","tag-breeding-plumage","tag-diving-ducks","tag-drake","tag-duck","tag-ducks-2","tag-male","tag-oxyura-jamaicensis","tag-pond","tag-ruddy-duck","tag-transitioning","tag-urban","tag-water","tag-winter"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/ruddy-duck-drake-adult-mia-mcpherson-1632.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-swJ","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":119932,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2024\/01\/19\/drake-ruddy-duck-in-early-breeding-plumage\/","url_meta":{"origin":109661,"position":0},"title":"Drake Ruddy Duck In Early Breeding Plumage","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"January 19, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"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.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Drake Ruddy Duck almost in breeding plumage, Salt Lake County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/ruddy-duck-drake-getting-his-colors-on-mia-mcpherson-1969.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/ruddy-duck-drake-getting-his-colors-on-mia-mcpherson-1969.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/ruddy-duck-drake-getting-his-colors-on-mia-mcpherson-1969.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/ruddy-duck-drake-getting-his-colors-on-mia-mcpherson-1969.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":119186,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2023\/12\/18\/ruddy-duck-drake-what-a-difference-20-days-makes\/","url_meta":{"origin":109661,"position":1},"title":"Ruddy Duck Drake – What A Difference 20 Days Makes","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"December 18, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"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.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Ruddy Duck drake on December 15, 2023, Salt Lake County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/ruddy-duck-adult-male-december-mia-mcpherson-0364.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/ruddy-duck-adult-male-december-mia-mcpherson-0364.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/ruddy-duck-adult-male-december-mia-mcpherson-0364.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/ruddy-duck-adult-male-december-mia-mcpherson-0364.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":118573,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2023\/11\/26\/urban-ruddy-duck-drake\/","url_meta":{"origin":109661,"position":2},"title":"Urban Ruddy Duck Drake","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"November 26, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Even though it was windy yesterday afternoon, I spent a few minutes with a Ruddy Duck drake in my viewfinder at my local pond. I hoped that he would get closer.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Urban drake Ruddy Duck, Salt Lake County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/ruddy-duck-drake-nonbreeding-plumage-mia-mcpherson-8688.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/ruddy-duck-drake-nonbreeding-plumage-mia-mcpherson-8688.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/ruddy-duck-drake-nonbreeding-plumage-mia-mcpherson-8688.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/ruddy-duck-drake-nonbreeding-plumage-mia-mcpherson-8688.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":113515,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2023\/05\/21\/ruddy-duck-shaking-in-morning-light\/","url_meta":{"origin":109661,"position":3},"title":"Ruddy Duck shaking in morning light","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"May 21, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Last month, when I took this photo of a male Ruddy Duck shaking at my local pond, I liked the way the light illuminated the lower part of his wings.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Drake Ruddy Duck shaking in morning light, Salt Lake County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/ruddy-duck-spring-wing-flap-mia-mcpherson-4795.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/ruddy-duck-spring-wing-flap-mia-mcpherson-4795.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/ruddy-duck-spring-wing-flap-mia-mcpherson-4795.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/ruddy-duck-spring-wing-flap-mia-mcpherson-4795.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":55722,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2019\/01\/17\/ruddy-duck-drake-in-nonbreeding-plumage\/","url_meta":{"origin":109661,"position":4},"title":"Ruddy Duck Drake In Nonbreeding Plumage","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"January 17, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"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.","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":"Drake Ruddy Duck in nonbreeding plumage, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/ruddy-duck-drake-mia-mcpherson-5552.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/ruddy-duck-drake-mia-mcpherson-5552.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/ruddy-duck-drake-mia-mcpherson-5552.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/ruddy-duck-drake-mia-mcpherson-5552.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":112996,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2023\/04\/28\/drake-ruddy-duck-and-his-sky-blue-bill\/","url_meta":{"origin":109661,"position":5},"title":"Drake Ruddy Duck And His Sky Blue Bill","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"April 28, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"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.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Spring drake Ruddy Duck portrait, Salt Lake County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/ruddy-duck-drake-breeding-plumage-mia-mcpherson-3947.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/ruddy-duck-drake-breeding-plumage-mia-mcpherson-3947.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/ruddy-duck-drake-breeding-plumage-mia-mcpherson-3947.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/ruddy-duck-drake-breeding-plumage-mia-mcpherson-3947.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/109661","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=109661"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/109661\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/109656"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=109661"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=109661"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=109661"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}