{"id":3175,"date":"2011-10-01T14:56:34","date_gmt":"2011-10-01T20:56:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=3175"},"modified":"2025-09-13T11:03:45","modified_gmt":"2025-09-13T16:03:45","slug":"things-are-getting-ducky-in-utah","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2011\/10\/01\/things-are-getting-ducky-in-utah\/","title":{"rendered":"Things Are Getting Ducky In Utah!"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"PreeningPreening hen Bufflehead (Bucephala albeola) – Nikon D200, f7.1, 1\/1250, ISO 400, -0.3 EV, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

You wouldn’t know it by the recent daytime high temperatures that fall has arrived here in Utah but I can see the changes. Higher up than the valley the leaves have begun to change to bright yellows, rust red and oranges\u00a0while the grasses have gotten that pale golden look I associate with this season.<\/p>\n

Another wonderful change that\u00a0I have been seeing is that a variety of duck species have been\u00a0arriving at the Great Salt Lake and the freshwater marshes, lakes and ponds in the Salt Lake Valley.<\/p>\n

\"MallardMallard drake on Willow Pond –\u00a0Nikon D200, f8, 1\/640, ISO 320, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

Mallards like the one shown above are present in the valley pretty much all year long but even the mallard population does seem to increase when autumn arrives in Utah. I know a lot of people who say they take them for granted because they are common throughout North America but I sure find the rich colors of the males appealing and the more subtle colors of the females equally so.<\/p>\n

I was laying on a small rug\u00a0of a snowy shoreline when I took the image above with my tripod as close to the ground as I was able to adjust it to get this low angle. The duck\u00a0was eyeing me cautiously.<\/p>\n

\"CinnamonCinnamon Teal male at Farmington Bay WMA – Nikon D200, f8, 1\/400, ISO 250, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

Not only I am seeing ever increasing numbers of ducks along the causeway to Antelope Island State Park, I am also seeing more ducks in flight. Duck hunting season starts today in Utah so the ducks will be even more wary than usual and will require well-developed stalking skills to photograph them, \u00a0a blind; either fixed, portable or using a vehicle as a mobile blind, can help with the skittishness of the waterfowl during this period of time.<\/p>\n

I love the brilliant red eye of male Cinnamon Teals combined with the rich, bronzy-red of their plumage.<\/p>\n

\"GadwallGadwall in pastel colored water – Nikon d200, f7.1, 1\/500, ISO 250, Nikkor 200-400mm with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

Some of the ducks that frequent ponds and lakes in the city parks are less skittish and will allow a closer approach than those in more “wild” areas.<\/p>\n

The Gadwall photo above was taken at a city park pond near where I live and was a very cooperative subject. I’m quite fond of the silvery tertials against the black rump of this species.<\/p>\n

\"GreaterGreater Scaup on a muddy creek bank –\u00a0<\/span>Nikon D200, f6.3, 1\/1000, ISO 400, +0.7 EV, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

Greater Scaups are a duck species I do not see or photograph as often as I would like, the bird above was warming itself on a sunlit; albeit muddy, bank along a stream of water, well away from the larger impoundments where hunting is allowed.<\/p>\n

The angle I used was a bit on the steep side, I had to aim my lens downward to photograph this scaup because it was about 6 – 8 feet lower than where I was located in a mobile blind. If I had so much as cracked the door open to get out to take a shot this duck would have been long gone before I could set up my tripod and mount the camera.<\/p>\n

\"HenHen Common Goldeneye in Salt Lake County – Nikon D200, f7.1, 1\/640, ISO 250, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

I have yet to have the pleasure of photographing any Barrow’s Goldeneyes but have found a few cooperative Common Goldeneyes near where I live and at other locations in the Salt Lake Valley.<\/p>\n

This beautiful bird was a bit more wary of me than the Gadwall I posted earlier and stayed hugged close to\u00a0the edge of the cattails which are seen reflecting on the water’s surface. I’d love the opportunity to photograph the males in breeding plumage though they breed well north of here.<\/p>\n

\"AdultAdult male Northern Shoveler at Farmington Bay –\u00a0Nikon D200, f7.1, 1\/1250, ISO 400, +0.7 EV, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

Another species that\u00a0are seen in the Salt Lake valley in large numbers are Northern Shovelers.\u00a0Huge flocks\u00a0of shovelers can be found along the Antelope Island causeway and in the fresh water areas of the valley.<\/p>\n

The bills of the male and female shovelers are quite distinctive because of the length. I often think that the shiny black bill of the males remind me of black patent leather because they are shiny and look slick.<\/p>\n

Even from long distances; both in the water and in flight, Northern Shovelers are easy to identify because of their bills.<\/p>\n

\"Ring-necked\u00a0Ring-necked Duck – <\/span><\/span>Nikon D200, f7.1, 1\/750, ISO 250, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

This male Ring-necked Duck was a visitor at the pond near my home, when I photographed it the middle of the pond was partially frozen and open nearer the shore.<\/p>\n

I have a feeling that this duck would have liked to have been a bit further away from where I was photographing it but in order to do that it would have had to get out of the water and walk on the thin\u00a0ice. For the most part it stayed close to where the water met the ice.<\/p>\n

It was preening just before I took this frame and was flapping its wings to settle its feather back in place. There is a bit of the reddish color showing of the “ring” around its neck.<\/p>\n

\"RelaxedRelaxed Red-breasted Merganser<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>– Nikon d200, f6.3, 1\/640, ISO 400, -0.3 EV, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

Mergansers don’t have “paddle shaped” bill that other ducks have, their bills are relatively thin in width and all merganser species in North America have serrated (saw like) bills that aid them in catching and maintaining a grip on their prey. The two large mergansers; the Red-breasted and Common, are long bodied, diving ducks.<\/p>\n

The bird shown in the image above had been preening its belly when it struck this pose while giving me great eye contact. The bills of Red-breasted Merganser are more orange than the bills of the Common Mergansers whose bills are more reddish toned.<\/p>\n

\"AdultCommon Merganser – Nikon D200, f7.1, 1\/1500, ISO 500, -0.7 EV, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

Common Mergansers also have dark eyes while the eyes of Red-breasted Mergansers are lighter and somewhat reddish in coloration.<\/p>\n

I love to watch both of these mergansers hunting for prey, they move very quickly under the water and just below its surface. They amuse and delight me. Photographing them can be a challenge because\u00a0the whites of their speculums are easy to blow out.<\/p>\n

I usually have to dial in some negative exposure compensation to prevent that from happening.<\/p>\n

\"NorthernNorthern Pintails – Nikon D200, f6.3, 1\/1600, ISO 320, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

It is my opinion that Northern Pintails are one of the most beautiful ducks I have ever seen, I sure hope to have more chances to photograph them while they are here.<\/p>\n

The Utah ducks that I have shown in this post are just some<\/em> of the ducks species that have or will soon\u00a0descend onto the lakes, marshes and ponds in Utah, filling the air with their calls or the sounds of their wings as they fly by.<\/p>\n

Yes, things are getting Ducky in Utah and for awhile they\u00a0are just going to get even duckier!<\/p>\n

Mia<\/p>\n

Click here<\/span><\/a> to see more of my duck, swan, and geese photos.<\/p>\n

*PS, I spent last week photographing at Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area, stay tuned for images from there!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Another wonderful change that I have been seeing is that a variety of duck species have been arriving at the Great Salt Lake<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":97158,"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":[27,960,961,962,476,697,963,964,965,966,429,133,132,522],"tags":[978,4237,970,4165,973,968,4238,967,2439,4520,976,3981,607,2440,1604,971,4239,277,2441,1137,140,4011,3973,975,972],"class_list":["post-3175","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-avian","category-buffleheads","category-cinnamon-teals","category-common-goldeneyes","category-common-mergansers","category-farmington-bay-wma","category-gadwalls","category-greater-scaups","category-mallards","category-northern-pintails","category-northern-shovelers","category-red-breasted-mergansers","category-ring-necked-ducks","category-salt-lake-valley","tag-anas-acuta","tag-anas-platyrhynchos","tag-autumn","tag-aythya-collaris","tag-aythya-marila","tag-bucephala-albeola","tag-bucephala-clangula","tag-bufflehead","tag-cinnamon-teal","tag-common-goldeneye","tag-common-merganser","tag-davis-county","tag-gadwall","tag-greater-scaup","tag-mallard","tag-mareca-strepera","tag-mergus-merganser","tag-mergus-serrator","tag-northern-pintail","tag-northern-shoveler","tag-red-breasted-merganser","tag-ring-necked-duck","tag-salt-lake-county","tag-spatula-clypeata","tag-spatula-cyanoptera"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/bufflehead-female-preening-mia-mcpherson-3695.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-Pd","jetpack_sharing_enabled":false,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":31574,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2015\/11\/03\/common-merganser-drakes-in-the-winter\/","url_meta":{"origin":3175,"position":0},"title":"Common Merganser Drakes in the Winter","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"November 3, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"I haven't posted any Common Mergansers lately and today I thought I would because we should start seeing them soon here in northern Utah.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Resting mature Common Merganser drake in Salt Lake County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/common-merganser-drake-breeding-plumage-mia-mcpherson-9665.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/common-merganser-drake-breeding-plumage-mia-mcpherson-9665.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, 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2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Mergansers are considered \"diving ducks\" and one of the things the three species of mergansers found in North America all have in common are their serrated bills.","rel":"","context":"In "Bird ID"","block_context":{"text":"Bird ID","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/bird-identification\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Adult nonbreeding Common Merganser in Utah, Farmington Bay WMA, Davis County,","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/common-merganser-mia-mcpherson-9392.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/common-merganser-mia-mcpherson-9392.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/common-merganser-mia-mcpherson-9392.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/common-merganser-mia-mcpherson-9392.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":118413,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2023\/11\/21\/drake-hooded-merganser-memory\/","url_meta":{"origin":3175,"position":3},"title":"Drake Hooded Merganser Memory","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"November 21, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Once upon a chilly December evening, I had a blast photographing a stunning drake Hooded Merganser in gorgeous light at an urban pond close to home.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Drake Hooded Merganser splashing after landing, Salt Lake County, 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2024","format":false,"excerpt":"I photographed these Common Mergansers at my local pond three years ago today. I will explain why I only had a few minutes with the mergansers at my local pond.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Two immature Common Mergansers in flight, Salt Lake County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/common-merganser-immature-flight-mia-mcpherson-8992.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/common-merganser-immature-flight-mia-mcpherson-8992.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/common-merganser-immature-flight-mia-mcpherson-8992.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/common-merganser-immature-flight-mia-mcpherson-8992.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":55778,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2019\/01\/22\/male-red-breasted-merganser-on-a-snowy-day-in-northern-utah\/","url_meta":{"origin":3175,"position":5},"title":"Male Red-breasted Merganser On A Snowy Day In Northern Utah","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"January 22, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"At first I thought the single Red-breasted Merganser was a female until I noticed the white patches of feathers behind its neck on its sides and then I realized that the merganser was a male because females do not typically have those white patches.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Red-breasted Merganser on a snowy, windy day, Salt Lake County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/red-breasted-merganser-male-mia-mcpherson-3652.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/red-breasted-merganser-male-mia-mcpherson-3652.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/red-breasted-merganser-male-mia-mcpherson-3652.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/red-breasted-merganser-male-mia-mcpherson-3652.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\/3175","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=3175"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3175\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/97158"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3175"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3175"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3175"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}