{"id":62769,"date":"2020-01-16T05:58:14","date_gmt":"2020-01-16T12:58:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=62769"},"modified":"2023-12-17T11:58:27","modified_gmt":"2023-12-17T18:58:27","slug":"photographing-winter-redheads-in-northern-utah","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2020\/01\/16\/photographing-winter-redheads-in-northern-utah\/","title":{"rendered":"Photographing Winter Redheads in Northern Utah"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"RedheadRedhead pair in winter \u2013 Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/2500, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

Over the past several weeks I have been enjoying myself while photographing Redheads here in northern Utah at my local pond. We have Redheads in this area all year round but I seem to see them through my viewfinder the most in winter. During the breeding season these diving ducks are scarce at my local ponds because they aren’t suitable nesting areas for this species but during the winter they build up in numbers to rest, feed, and court.<\/p>\n

\"TwoTwo Redhead drakes courting a hen \u2013 Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/1600, ISO 640, +0.7 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

Redheads begin to court during the winter and they form pair ponds during this time. In the past week I have started to notice the Redheads displaying courtship behaviors but most of the time these ducks have been too far away to obtain high quality images of their mating displays and behaviors.<\/p>\n

\"Hen<\/p>\n

Hen Redhead close up \u2013 Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/1250, ISO 640, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

There have been a couple of times when the Redheads have come close to me but did not exhibit any courtship displays. I keep hoping that they will though.<\/p>\n

\"RedheadRedhead drake on silvery water \u2013 Nikon D500, f10, 1\/1250, ISO 640, +0.3 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

Every time that I go to my local pond I look for these diving ducks and hope that they will become so absorbed by the desire to find a mate that they will lose some of their natural wariness and drift closer to me.<\/p>\n

All for of the photos above were taken on January 12, 2020.<\/p>\n

\"RedheadRedhead drakes and hens gathering on a pond \u2013 Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/1250, ISO 320, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

Yesterday I watched and photographed the Redhead drakes exhibiting Kinked-neck and Head-throw displays but once again they were too far away to get the high quality images I am seeking. It is fun though to watch these ducks gather on the pond in small groups like this one that I photographed yesterday afternoon and to see the drakes courting the hens.<\/p>\n

Winter still has a few weeks to go before spring arrives and these Redheads leave my local pond and head towards areas that are more suitable for nesting so I will keep trying for those closer photos of their mating displays and behaviors.<\/p>\n

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

Mia<\/p>\n

Click here<\/a><\/span> to view more of my Redhead photos plus facts and information about this species.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Yesterday I watched and photographed the Redhead drakes exhibiting Kinked-neck and Head-throw displays but once again they were too far away to get the high quality images I am seeking.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":119158,"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":[27,2460,709,26],"tags":[4142,8318,6412,4753,4483,6230,1129,126,4070,5918,6949,4359,4823,4062,1149,8301,8300,1984,4560,8118,8317,3996,2063,373],"class_list":["post-62769","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-avian","category-redheads","category-salt-lake-county-utah","category-utah","tag-close-up","tag-courting-pair","tag-courtship-behaviors","tag-diving-ducks","tag-drake","tag-drakes","tag-duck","tag-ducks-2","tag-female","tag-females","tag-gathering","tag-hen","tag-hens","tag-male","tag-males","tag-photograph","tag-photographing","tag-pond","tag-redhead","tag-redheads","tag-silvery","tag-water","tag-waterfowl","tag-winter"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/redhead-hens-and-drakes-winter-pond-mia-mcpherson-3473.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-gkp","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":119064,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2023\/12\/17\/resting-redhead-drake-on-an-urban-pond\/","url_meta":{"origin":62769,"position":0},"title":"Resting Redhead Drake On An Urban Pond","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"December 17, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Today I am sharing a simple photo of a resting Redhead drake that I saw at my local pond two days ago. The red-headed duck appeared to be keeping an eye on me.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Resting Redhead drake, Salt Lake County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/redhead-drake-resting-mia-mcpherson-9728.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-resting-mia-mcpherson-9728.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/redhead-drake-resting-mia-mcpherson-9728.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/redhead-drake-resting-mia-mcpherson-9728.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 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2022","format":false,"excerpt":"This morning I am sharing three drake Redhead photos that I took at my local pond two evenings ago before the golden light of sunset had started to glow.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Drake Redhead stretching","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/redhead-drake-adult-stretching-mia-mcpherson-4310.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/redhead-drake-adult-stretching-mia-mcpherson-4310.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/redhead-drake-adult-stretching-mia-mcpherson-4310.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, 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meant to share this photo of a Drake Redhead diving weeks ago, but when the loons arrived at my local pond, I completely forgot that I had processed it.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Drake Redhead in a dive, Salt Lake County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/redhead-drake-diving-mia-mcpherson-7637.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/redhead-drake-diving-mia-mcpherson-7637.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/redhead-drake-diving-mia-mcpherson-7637.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, 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