{"id":43871,"date":"2016-12-12T06:17:03","date_gmt":"2016-12-12T13:17:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=43871"},"modified":"2023-12-17T05:52:11","modified_gmt":"2023-12-17T12:52:11","slug":"redhead-drakes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2016\/12\/12\/redhead-drakes\/","title":{"rendered":"Redhead Drakes"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"DrakeDrake Redhead Close up – Nikon D300, f7.1, 1\/500, ISO 500, +1.0 EV, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

Things are pretty ducky around here lately. At Farmington Bay and Bear River MBR I am seeing all the ducks I normally see in winter but quite often I am unable to get close to them at those locations because it is hunting season and the ducks are warier and far more skittish than normal.<\/p>\n

But closer to home I can photograph the ducks at a nearby by urban pond where they aren’t quite so wary. In fact some times they come up so close that I can’t focus on them. Granted, some of them have gotten used to the food that people handout to the ducks but some also come for the fish and other natural food sources too.<\/p>\n

Early winter through spring is a good time to photograph Redheads close to where I live and it can also provide opportunities to get close ups of these males with their cinnamon colored heads, bright orange eyes and interesting tricolored bills.<\/p>\n

\"DrakeDrake Redhead at Bear River MBR in spring – Nikon D810, f7.1, 1\/1000, ISO 500, +-0.3 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

After the hunting season is over I can usually get closer to the ducks at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge<\/span><\/a> but not normally as close as I can get to them on the pond near where I live in Salt Lake County. Still, I love seeing all the ducks at the refuge. In the spring I see Redhead drakes courting the hens and chasing the other males around the water impoundments from the auto tour route.<\/p>\n

This Redhead drake photographed at the refuge in his breeding plumage sure stood out well from the water that was reflecting the spring growth of rushes and phragmites.<\/p>\n

Life is good. Or just ducky.<\/p>\n

Mia<\/p>\n

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

This Redhead drake photographed at the refuge in his breeding plumage sure stood out well from the water that was reflecting the spring growth of rushes and phragmites. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":119100,"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":[124,27,1148,2460,709,26],"tags":[4004,2461,4053,4142,4483,1129,126,4062,4094,1984,4046,4560,4092,165,8018,2063,4095,373],"class_list":["post-43871","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-redheads","category-salt-lake-county-utah","category-utah","tag-adult","tag-aythya-americana","tag-breeding-plumage","tag-close-up","tag-drake","tag-duck","tag-ducks-2","tag-male","tag-marsh","tag-pond","tag-portrait","tag-redhead","tag-refuge","tag-spring","tag-urban","tag-waterfowl","tag-wetlands","tag-winter"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/redhead-drake-green-water-mia-mcpherson-7327.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-bpB","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":14314,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2014\/02\/11\/redhead-drake-portrait\/","url_meta":{"origin":43871,"position":0},"title":"Redhead drake portrait","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"February 11, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"The sun came out for a few hours yesterday afternoon so I went to a pond near where I live and photographed some of the ducks including this very confiding Redhead drake.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Redhead drake portrait, Salt Lake County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/redhead-duck-portrait-mia-mcpherson-9081.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/redhead-duck-portrait-mia-mcpherson-9081.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/redhead-duck-portrait-mia-mcpherson-9081.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/redhead-duck-portrait-mia-mcpherson-9081.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":19426,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2015\/02\/04\/redheads-in-salt-lake-county\/","url_meta":{"origin":43871,"position":1},"title":"Redhead Ducks in Salt Lake County","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"February 4, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Last February; when there was actually snow on the ground, I photographed a pair of Redhead ducks at a pond near where I live.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Diving Redhead hen, Salt Lake County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/redhead-hen-diving-mia-mcpherson-8911.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/redhead-hen-diving-mia-mcpherson-8911.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/redhead-hen-diving-mia-mcpherson-8911.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/redhead-hen-diving-mia-mcpherson-8911.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":49425,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2017\/11\/14\/winter-redhead-drakes-in-northern-utah\/","url_meta":{"origin":43871,"position":2},"title":"Winter Redhead Drakes in Northern Utah","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"November 14, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Redhead drakes are more colorful than the hens and I always enjoy having them in my viewfinder because of their cinnamon colored heads, their bright orange eyes and their tri-colored bills.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Close up of a drake Redhead, Salt Lake County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/redhead-drake-portrait-mia-mcpherson-8960.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/redhead-drake-portrait-mia-mcpherson-8960.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/redhead-drake-portrait-mia-mcpherson-8960.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/redhead-drake-portrait-mia-mcpherson-8960.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":28448,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2015\/09\/21\/a-redhead-drake-at-bear-river-migratory-bird-refuge\/","url_meta":{"origin":43871,"position":3},"title":"Redhead Drake at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"September 21, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"The Redheads at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge are getting closer to being in their breeding plumage which they normally show from October through June.","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":"Redhead shaking it up on the refuge, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/redhead-drake-shaking-mia-mcpherson-0494.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/redhead-drake-shaking-mia-mcpherson-0494.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/redhead-drake-shaking-mia-mcpherson-0494.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/redhead-drake-shaking-mia-mcpherson-0494.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":27496,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2015\/08\/18\/it-is-getting-duckier-at-bear-river-migratory-bird-refuge\/","url_meta":{"origin":43871,"position":4},"title":"It is Getting Duckier at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"August 18, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Over the past couple of weeks I have noticed that Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge is getting duckier. 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