Male Shoveler
It seems like each year I get a new piece of camera gear, whether it be a lens or a body. This time it is both, a Nikon D800 with 36 megapixels and a Tamron 150-600mm super telephoto lens. They combine for reach and detail I could never have dreamed of when I started doing this.
Rarity
Among the Mallard and Bufflehead and Gadwall and Pintail swims a rarer catch, a Blue-Winged Teal. Its cousins Cinnamon and Green-Wing are rather gregarious and seem to be everywhere at once... but it's once in a great while that I'm able to catch sight of this beautiful species.
Finally found him...
I've gotten a fair amount of photos of female Wood Ducks in the past few years, but never any drakes. Finally I was able to find a few pairs of the reclusive creatures... swimming in a lake at the golf course where I work! Who'd have thought? Not me... finally got a photo of the holy grail of waterfowl plumage.
That's not a Wood Duck...
There are several lakes at the golf course where I work, some of which I don't get to visit on any kind of regular basis as a result of their far proximity to the clubhouse. Some of the members there are fellow nature-lovers and always tell me of the things they see upon returning from their round, one group in particular having told me of another Wood Duck that had been relaxing in one of the far lakes. I'd already gotten some photos of one of the Wood Ducks in one of the nearer lakes so I didn't pay it much mind... until someone showed me a picture of it. It was indeed not a Wood Duck... it was a Mandrake. So gorgeous...
Bearded Profile
The male Mandrake is so very pretty, such extravagant feather colors and types and textures. I love looking at this photo because it's nice and detailed and you can see all the different textures and colors in one. I especially like the feathers on its neck.
Unusual Structures
The two fanlike feathers on its back are quite perplexing to me. I would like to see what it looks like with its wings spread, to see if they do in fact serve any function. This I somewhat doubt as the rest of its aesthetic features seem to be quite superfluous and non-functional... unless it comes to attracting a mate.
