Tag: #ducks

Drinking Duck

This duck was drinking out of the Hudson River. Not the best lighting conditions, but I will take it. Bad weather is predicted for here tomorrow. Enjoy the rest of your weekend.

Duck drinking the Hudson River water.
Drinking duck

Wood Ducks

I went on a long hike to a wetland area with a trail next to it on two sides. I did not know what I would see. This was private land with public access on their trails. They do have someone come by in a truck to make sure people are following the rules. The main ones are stay on the trails and keep your dog on a lead or leash. I did manage to get off a couple of quick shots on the fly of wood ducks.

Female with a baby

I found them to be like other wood ducks- skittish around people. The female and the baby mostly hid amongst the plants. This was the only shot I could get on these two.

Male by itself

The male I was able to get off a few shots. He was walking back and forth on this log. There was a big nest in a tree in the middle of the water. I am guessing it was a hawk’s nest. I am wondering if they had more ducklings, but lost them to predators. These were taken from a long distance with a zoom lens and are heavily cropped. Get out and enjoy the great outdoors, and explore new trails.

Merganser Ducks

On the way up to Canada to visit some relatives and on the return as well I spent a few days in the Adirondack Mountains kayaking on different lakes and ponds. One one body of water I was lucky enough to witness several types of wildlife. One bird I saw was the merganser duck.

All of these shots were in shaded areas next to shore.

The only place I have seen a merganser is on lakes in the Adirondack Mountains. One this day I saw more than one female with a trail of young. This is the one I saw in early evening. It had quite the crew with it. I never counted. but I am sure there were at least a dozen young. The other female I saw in the morning had a much smaller group following with her. I did see both groups in the morning.

Eagles were nearby.

All the ducks I saw that day stayed mostly on the shoreline in well shaded areas. Since there were eagles visiting and known to fly in and out I am sure that was for survival purposes.

I cannot tell if this was a yawn or if the duckling was making a sound.

For those of you who have never been to the Adirondack Mountains, I highly recommend it. It was mostly in the low 70s during the day and 50s at night. If you ever go, go slow and enjoy the local wildlife.