May 6, 2012 - Ducks

Spring brings lots of ducks through our area on their way to their breeding grounds in the northern United States and Canada. Fresh breeding plumage means they look their very best at this time of the year. Here is a pair of Wood Ducks I found at Como Lake in St. Paul, MN. I had a photo of Wood Ducks just two weeks ago but you couldn’t see the female very well in that photo. While she isn’t as flashy as the male, you can see the subtle iridescence of her wing feathers.

DuckWoodmalefemaleComoLakePaul20120417

Mallards, of course, are quite common. This male was also photographed at Como Lake. I’m always amused at the turned-up tail feathers of this species.

MallardmaleComoLakePaul20120417

This photo of a male and female Northern Shoveler gives you a good view of their huge bills. One of their main feeding patterns is to swim along in a pond with this huge bill barely submerged. Food is strained from the water by the comb-like edges of the bill. Shovelers are apparently one of our fastest flying ducks.

ShovelorNorthernmalefemaleComoLakePaul20120417

This Shoveler was bathing by submerging himself and then raising up and flapping like crazy. Here you can see his colorful wing pattern.

ShovelorNorthernmaleflappingComoLakePaul20120417

Here’s a view of the underside of the Shoveler’s wing. These photos were also taken at Lake Como.

ShovelorNorthernmaleflappingComoLakePaul20120417

I also photographed some ducks at the Old Cedar Avenue Bridge in Bloomington, MN. Here’s a female Green-winged Teal. This species is our smallest dabbling duck (ducks that feed on the surface rather than diving for their food). Like most female birds, she has mottled plumage that helps her stay hidden when she’s sitting on her nest. You can just get a glimpse of the green wing feathers that inspired the name of this duck.

TealGreenwingedfemaleOldCedarAveBridgeBloomington20120417

Here’s the male Green-winged Teal. He’s a very handsome duck but he’s not showing us any of the green in his wings.

TealGreenwingedmaleOldCedarAveBridgeBloomington20120417