{"id":48509,"date":"2017-09-18T05:14:26","date_gmt":"2017-09-18T11:14:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=48509"},"modified":"2021-11-24T09:49:37","modified_gmt":"2021-11-24T16:49:37","slug":"ruddy-duck-hen-in-golden-evening-light","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2017\/09\/18\/ruddy-duck-hen-in-golden-evening-light\/","title":{"rendered":"Ruddy Duck Hen in Golden Evening Light"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"RuddyRuddy Duck hen in evening light – Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/800, ISO 320, -0.7 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

I came across this photo of a Ruddy Duck hen in evening light yesterday while looking for another photo in my archives and wondered why I hadn’t processed and shared the image. I probably didn’t process it because of lack of time, having quite a bit on my plate seems to be a daily occurrence for me and has for some time.<\/p>\n

The Ruddy Duck hen was photographed at a pond close to where I live during the evening hours and I loved the golden light on the bird and on the water. It was a bit breezy that evening and little waves had formed on the pond which created nice reflections on the blue water. I don’t have many opportunities with Ruddy Ducks up close because they can be quite skittish. I would be too if people shot at me for a couple of months each year.<\/p>\n

Ruddy Ducks breed in northern Utah and are seen year round in some parts of the state. In breeding plumage the males have sky blue bills, bright white cheek patches, black caps and chestnut colored bodies. The females are brown and have a brown streak across pale cheeks.<\/p>\n

\"RuddyRuddy Duck – Mallard size comparison – Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/800, ISO 320, -0.7 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

Ruddy Ducks are small diving ducks that dive for aquatic insects, zooplankton, crustaceans and other invertebrates. They aren’t North America’s smallest duck, Green-winged Teals have that distinction, but they are pretty tiny compared to most of the ducks I see on the pond nearby. I really didn’t care much for this photo because of the out of focus Mallard in the background but I kept it because it showed the size comparison between the Ruddy Duck and the Mallard very well.<\/p>\n

Last week I saw a female Ruddy Duck at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge and she was the first I had seen close enough to photograph since early summer, soon their numbers will increase at the refuge, Farmington Bay WMA and along the causeway to Antelope Island. As summer begins to slip away and autumn begins to tip toe in duck numbers will increase in northern Utah. I’m looking forward to seeing them.<\/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 Ruddy Duck hen was photographed at a pond close to where I live during the evening hours and I loved the golden light on the bird and on the water. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":97604,"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":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27,965,2397,709],"tags":[4004,4237,4982,4753,1129,126,4433,4070,1604,2398,2447,2129,3996,2063,373],"class_list":["post-48509","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-avian","category-mallards","category-ruddy-ducks","category-salt-lake-county-utah","tag-adult","tag-anas-platyrhynchos","tag-comparison","tag-diving-ducks","tag-duck","tag-ducks-2","tag-evening-light","tag-female","tag-mallard","tag-oxyura-jamaicensis","tag-ruddy-duck","tag-size-comparison","tag-water","tag-waterfowl","tag-winter"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/ruddy-duck-female-mia-mcpherson-2497.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-cCp","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":97563,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2021\/11\/24\/ruddy-ducks-in-flight\/","url_meta":{"origin":48509,"position":0},"title":"Ruddy Ducks In Flight","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"November 24, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"A few days ago I saw someone say that they rarely saw photos of Ruddy Ducks in flight and I remembered I had a series of them flying past taken 11 years ago.","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":"Flock of Ruddy Ducks in flight, Farmington Bay WMA, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/ruddy-ducks-in-flight-mia-mcpherson-5493.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-ducks-in-flight-mia-mcpherson-5493.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, 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Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/ruddy-duck-female-rousing-mia-mcpherson-0080.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-female-rousing-mia-mcpherson-0080.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/ruddy-duck-female-rousing-mia-mcpherson-0080.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/ruddy-duck-female-rousing-mia-mcpherson-0080.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":11597,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2013\/12\/06\/photos-that-make-me-laugh-ruddy-duck-female\/","url_meta":{"origin":48509,"position":2},"title":"Photos that make me laugh – Ruddy Duck female","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"December 6, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Some times when I open a photo I took I can't help but laugh for various reasons, in this case when I opened the file the pose of this Ruddy Duck female just \"quacked\" me up.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Female Ruddy Duck shaking, Farmington Bay WMA, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/ruddy-duck-female-funny-mia-mcpherson-4658.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/ruddy-duck-female-funny-mia-mcpherson-4658.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/ruddy-duck-female-funny-mia-mcpherson-4658.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, 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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":27496,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2015\/08\/18\/it-is-getting-duckier-at-bear-river-migratory-bird-refuge\/","url_meta":{"origin":48509,"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. I am seeing more ducks in the water and flying over head now than I had in July.","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":"Slightly odd looking Redhead, 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-mia-mcpherson-8002.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-mia-mcpherson-8002.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/redhead-drake-mia-mcpherson-8002.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/redhead-drake-mia-mcpherson-8002.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":48509,"position":5},"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. 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