Well I pretty much repeated my steps from yesterday by looking again for the Deer and Gadwall. In both cases I got lucky and got some better photos. First off I saw not one but two bucks together on the south side. This time they were a bit further down the trail, closer to the south parking lot. It's surprising how much green is in the background of this shot. 
The other buck, a smaller 4-pointer is just off screen as I zoomed in closely on the bigger one. I really didn't notice all the burs stuck to the top of his head when I took the photo! Well now I was certain I'd found the "big buck" that my friends had told me about yesterday. But I was wrong! Having walked a bit further down the trail myself I noticed some more movement in the cattails. 
There, stood an enormous deer with a huge set of antlers. It was hard to count them as they blended in well with the cattails but I finally did count 5 on each side. As I stood there watching and waiting for a less obstructed photo, another park goer came by on his bike and saw what I was looking at. He was a photographer too and got off his bike to pull his camera out of his backpack. 
We both watched the buck for a while but the whole time he never really came out of the cattails. I guess that's how he got so big in the first place, by being smart. I moved along, leaving the other photographer still waiting. I saw a few Goldfinches and Juncos along the way to the other side of the park. By the time I got to the little pond on the west side, the sun was getting very low and cast a golden glow on the water. There right in the middle of the pond was the Gadwall from yesterday! 
I quickly snapped photos as it swam slowly to and fro with a small group of Mallards. Though not all of my pics turned out as sharp as I'd hoped, the beautiful light almost made up for it.
I was just thrilled to capture this duck in a golden November glow. Even the Mallards look gorgeous in that kind of light.
The other buck, a smaller 4-pointer is just off screen as I zoomed in closely on the bigger one. I really didn't notice all the burs stuck to the top of his head when I took the photo! Well now I was certain I'd found the "big buck" that my friends had told me about yesterday. But I was wrong! Having walked a bit further down the trail myself I noticed some more movement in the cattails. 
There, stood an enormous deer with a huge set of antlers. It was hard to count them as they blended in well with the cattails but I finally did count 5 on each side. As I stood there watching and waiting for a less obstructed photo, another park goer came by on his bike and saw what I was looking at. He was a photographer too and got off his bike to pull his camera out of his backpack. 
We both watched the buck for a while but the whole time he never really came out of the cattails. I guess that's how he got so big in the first place, by being smart. I moved along, leaving the other photographer still waiting. I saw a few Goldfinches and Juncos along the way to the other side of the park. By the time I got to the little pond on the west side, the sun was getting very low and cast a golden glow on the water. There right in the middle of the pond was the Gadwall from yesterday! 
I quickly snapped photos as it swam slowly to and fro with a small group of Mallards. Though not all of my pics turned out as sharp as I'd hoped, the beautiful light almost made up for it.
I was just thrilled to capture this duck in a golden November glow. Even the Mallards look gorgeous in that kind of light.
that was not a mallard hen thats a wigeon.
ReplyDeleteWigeons have the white on its wing a mallard has blue on it wing so its not a mallard hen it a wigeon.
ReplyDeleteNo, it's not a wigeon. Wigeons have small blue bills with a black tip. This is likely a juvenile male gadwall with it's dark rump growing in. White large speculum barely visible.
ReplyDelete