{"id":28796,"date":"2015-10-03T06:31:12","date_gmt":"2015-10-03T12:31:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=28796"},"modified":"2021-11-28T11:50:44","modified_gmt":"2021-11-28T18:50:44","slug":"a-greater-scaup-drake-in-autumn","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2015\/10\/03\/a-greater-scaup-drake-in-autumn\/","title":{"rendered":"Greater Scaup drake in Autumn"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"GreaterGreater Scaup drake in Autumn – Nikon D810, f8, 1\/500, ISO 400, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

It feels so good to look at a 10 day weather forecast and see predictions of lower temps and to know that autumn is really on the way. The cooler temps feel invigorating to me and probably all the birds and wildlife I photograph.<\/p>\n

Last autumn I was able to get up close to a drake Greater Scaup at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge<\/span><\/a> and I’m hoping that I see more of them this year. I don’t get many chances to photograph this duck species that only winters over here in a few locations in northern Utah so I will jump at any chance I get.<\/p>\n

The population of Greater Scaups has been on the decline since the 1990’s and while biologists and conservationists aren’t sure why some researchers believe a parasitic trematode<\/span><\/a>; or fluke, found in the snails these ducks eat might be to blame. Whatever the cause I hope that we can stop the decline of these handsome ducks.<\/p>\n

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

Mia<\/p>\n

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

Last autumn I was able to get up close to a drake Greater Scaup at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge and I’m hoping that I see more of them this year.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":97729,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[124,27,1148,964,26],"tags":[4004,970,973,4483,1129,126,4620,2440,4062,4094,4747,6400,6401,3996,2063,4095],"class_list":["post-28796","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-greater-scaups","category-utah","tag-adult","tag-autumn","tag-aythya-marila","tag-drake","tag-duck","tag-ducks-2","tag-fall","tag-greater-scaup","tag-male","tag-marsh","tag-population-decline","tag-scaup","tag-scaups","tag-water","tag-waterfowl","tag-wetlands"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/greater-scaup-male-adult-mia-mcpherson-9408.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-7us","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":17154,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2014\/11\/18\/edit-greater-scaup-drake-at-bear-river-national-wildlife-refuge\/","url_meta":{"origin":28796,"position":0},"title":"Greater Scaup Drake At Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"November 18, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"This Greater Scaup drake is making the transition into his breeding plumage and was in among American Coots, a resting female scaup, Pied-Billed Grebes and a single Canvasback.","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":"Greater Scaup drake, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/greater-scaup-drake-mia-mcpherson-9265.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/greater-scaup-drake-mia-mcpherson-9265.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/greater-scaup-drake-mia-mcpherson-9265.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/greater-scaup-drake-mia-mcpherson-9265.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":97707,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2021\/11\/28\/help-with-drake-scaup-identification\/","url_meta":{"origin":28796,"position":1},"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":100354,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2022\/03\/03\/lesser-scaup-hen-and-drake-at-bear-river-mbr\/","url_meta":{"origin":28796,"position":2},"title":"Lesser Scaup Hen And Drake At Bear River MBR","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"March 3, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"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.","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":"Lesser Scaup hen flapping her wings, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/lesser-scaup-hen-wing-flap-mia-mcpherson-7243.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/lesser-scaup-hen-wing-flap-mia-mcpherson-7243.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/lesser-scaup-hen-wing-flap-mia-mcpherson-7243.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/lesser-scaup-hen-wing-flap-mia-mcpherson-7243.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":28796,"position":3},"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":28796,"position":4},"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, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/ring-necked-duck-and-weird-scaup-mia-mcpherson-1489.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":51240,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2018\/03\/13\/drake-lesser-scaup-in-salt-lake-county\/","url_meta":{"origin":28796,"position":5},"title":"Drake Lesser Scaup in Salt Lake County","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"March 13, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"The drake Lesser Scaup did come in close enough to be able to take a few images of it where it almost filled the frame before a man and his dog walked by and caused the scaup to make a hasty retreat to the middle of the pond.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Lesser Scaup drake floating on a pond, Salt Lake County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/lesser-scaup-drake-pond-mia-mcpherson-6558.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-pond-mia-mcpherson-6558.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/lesser-scaup-drake-pond-mia-mcpherson-6558.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/lesser-scaup-drake-pond-mia-mcpherson-6558.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\/28796","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=28796"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28796\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/97729"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28796"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28796"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28796"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}