{"id":99250,"date":"2022-01-25T06:03:21","date_gmt":"2022-01-25T13:03:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=99250"},"modified":"2023-12-20T03:40:45","modified_gmt":"2023-12-20T10:40:45","slug":"bathing-canvasback-hen-and-the-story-behind-the-images","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2022\/01\/25\/bathing-canvasback-hen-and-the-story-behind-the-images\/","title":{"rendered":"Bathing Canvasback Hen And The Story Behind The Images"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"BathingBathing Canvasback hen in winter \u2013 Nikon D500, tripod mounted, f7.1, 1\/2000, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

When I photographed this bathing Canvasback hen three days ago at a pond close to home I was really happy to see her doing well and doing what ducks do. The female Canvasback was farther away from me than I would have liked and these photos are cropped more than I usually prefer to crop. I was simply happy to see her taking a bath in the cold water of the pond.<\/p>\n

\"CanvasbackCanvasback hen and flying water droplets \u2013 Nikon D500, tripod mounted, f7.1, 1\/2000, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

The Canvasback splashed around in the water causing water droplets to fly through the air. The clear blue sky was reflected on the water as well as the red roof of a nearby building.<\/p>\n

\"CanvasbackCanvasback female after bathing \u2013 Nikon D500, tripod mounted, f7.1, 1\/2000, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

After the hen Canvasback finished bathing I knew that she would shake the water out of her feathers because that is what ducks normally do when they are done bathing unless something startles them. The hen held this pose for quite a few seconds.<\/p>\n

\"FemaleFemale Canvasback getting ready to shake her feathers \u2013 Nikon D500, tripod mounted, f7.1, 1\/2000, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

And then she started to raise her body and her wings in preparation for a good shake.<\/p>\n

\"HenHen Canvasback shaking her feathers \u2013 Nikon D500, tripod mounted, f7.1, 1\/2000, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

Once the female Canvasback had a good shake she settled back down on the water and slowly swam away and out of my sight. I hope she sticks around and that I can get frame filling images of her.<\/p>\n

The story behind these images:<\/strong><\/h2>\n

\"AprilApril Olson and Canvasback hen \u2013 Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/1250, ISO 800, Nikkor 70-300mm VR at 70mm, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

I first met this hen Canvasback nine days before I took the photos above. This female Canvasback was rehabilitated by the Wildlife Rehabilitation Center of Northern Utah<\/span><\/a> (WRCNU) and our own April Olson was in charge of releasing her. On a very dreary day I met up with April at one of the ponds close to where I live and as April released the duck I photographed the release.<\/p>\n

\"AprilApril Olson releasing the Canvasback hen \u2013 Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/1600, ISO 800, Nikkor 70-300mm VR at 70mm, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

The Canvasback hen wasted no time flying away once April released her gentle grip on the bird. This image shows the moment the duck left April’s hands.<\/p>\n

\"CanvasbackCanvasback hen after being released \u2013 Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/3200, ISO 800, Nikkor 70-300mm VR at 70mm, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

And this last photo shows the hen Canvasback running across the pond a split second later. Moments after the hen Canvasback settled down on the pond she began to bathe herself.<\/p>\n

I was delighted and honored to observe and photograph the release of the Canvasback.<\/p>\n

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

Mia<\/p>\n

Please consider making a donation to WRCNU or your local bird and wildlife rehab facility. WRCNU<\/span><\/a> helps birds and wildlife and have rehabbed more than 31,187 (as of Dec 31st, 2021) and they are funded solely by donations.<\/p>\n

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

When I photographed this bathing Canvasback hen three days ago at a pond close to home I was really happy to see her doing well and doing what ducks do.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":99249,"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":[27,4708,709,26],"tags":[4004,6000,4710,4373,4709,4753,1129,126,5025,4070,4359,1984,958,6611,4662,4659,3973,4502,8018,30,3996,5110,5204,373,12719],"class_list":["post-99250","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-avian","category-canvasbacks","category-salt-lake-county-utah","category-utah","tag-adult","tag-april-olson","tag-aythya-valisineria","tag-bathing","tag-canvasback","tag-diving-ducks","tag-duck","tag-ducks-2","tag-feathers","tag-female","tag-hen","tag-pond","tag-reflections","tag-rehab","tag-rehabilitated","tag-release","tag-salt-lake-county","tag-shaking","tag-urban","tag-utah-2","tag-water","tag-water-droplets","tag-wildlife-rehabilitation-center-of-northern-utah","tag-winter","tag-wrcnu"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/canvasback-hen-and-reflections-mia-mcpherson-1545.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-pOO","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":119257,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2023\/12\/20\/six-canvasback-hen-photos\/","url_meta":{"origin":99250,"position":0},"title":"Six Canvasback Hen Photos","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"December 20, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"This morning, I'm sharing six Canvasback hen photos that were taken two winters ago. I found the hen mixed in with other ducks at my local pond.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Hen Canvasback in flight, Salt Lake County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/canvasback-hen-fly-by-mia-mcpherson-8211.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/canvasback-hen-fly-by-mia-mcpherson-8211.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/canvasback-hen-fly-by-mia-mcpherson-8211.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/canvasback-hen-fly-by-mia-mcpherson-8211.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 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McPherson","date":"November 4, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"When I came across the Canvasback drake on a frigid February morning at a pond near where I live I simply had to get a few images of him.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Canvasback drake running across the water, Salt Lake County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/canvasback-drake-running-utah-mia-mcpherson-6259.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/canvasback-drake-running-utah-mia-mcpherson-6259.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/canvasback-drake-running-utah-mia-mcpherson-6259.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, 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2022","format":false,"excerpt":"A few days ago I came across this image of a snow white feather floating on a pond when I went down a rabbit hole into my photo archives.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Snow white feather floating on a pond, Salt Lake County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/white-feather-floating-on-pond-mia-mcpherson-9439.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/white-feather-floating-on-pond-mia-mcpherson-9439.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/white-feather-floating-on-pond-mia-mcpherson-9439.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, 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