Overcast with periods
of rain, chilly mid 50s, calm
We had a short time to check
out a couple of sites on our way to our son’s house in Connecticut today. One of our favorite spots is River Road
along the Shepaug River in Southbury, CT.
While it is far too early for migrating eagles to be at the dam and
along the river (a favorite haunt in winter), there are several fields and
ponds and well as the river in which we might find some early migrating ducks
or other water birds as well as sparrows.
At first, our best prospect
for a shot worthy of blogness was the Northern mockingbird. In spite of their being one of the more
common birds in our part of the country and the fact that we can become jaded,
a close look at these birds shows that they are indeed one of the more handsome
members of the bird world.
The catch of the day, however,
was a group of 8 Wood ducks swimming amongst the duck weed on one of those
ponds I mentioned. With little to
no vehicles on the road at this time of year, I had plenty of time to stop the
RAV in the middle of the asphalt and shoot away. Even though the light was subdued and the ducks were distant
as Wood ducks often are, I was able to set the ISO down to 400 and fire away. The result was at least one decent
documentation shot of these most beautiful of ducks.
Perhaps only the Harlequin
duck can compete for sheer brilliance of ornamentation among the waterfowl
community. Even in the rainy atmosphere,
the colors of the woodies are so brilliant you can’t miss them even at this
distance.
And so, while not a great
variety of shots today, the Wood ducks surely fill the bill as our Shot of the
Day.
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