Harlequin(duck) Romance

[NorthernFocus]

This past weekend we went shrimping (cold water prawns) out on Prince William Sound. The area we went to had a few harlequin ducks hanging around which were full on into their courtship behaviors. Harlequins like to hang out on rocks in coastal areas. They are typically very shy but when engaged in their courtship they tend to get single minded and let down their guard a bit.

These guys were just sitting on top of the last bit of rock above the surface on a rising tide. The one on the left is a juvenile male not yet in full plumage, an adult male in center, and female on the right. Conventional wisdom for wildlife is to compose the shot with the critter facing into the frame. So I guess this breaks the rules .

Nikon D7100, 500mm VR, handheld from boat

1.


Sometimes it's better to be lucky than good. It just happened that the cove that we anchored in for the night had three or four breeding pairs hanging around, all very active with breeding behavior. I went out for a paddle in an inflatable kayak to take a couple shots of the boat. Though I only had a 200mm lens the breeding behavior brought them close enough for some decent shots.

Nikon D7100, 70-200mm f4, handheld from kayak
2.


3.


4.

[deetheturk]

Lovely series Dan,amazing for handheld,especially with a 500!

[Shadowman]

Nice series.

[John 2]

Nice series Dan. I particularly like 1 and 2 fro their comps. No rules broken in no.1. IMHO, it's about balance. Had there just been the two on the left looking out of the frame, that might have been different. As it is, the duck on the right drags my eye back into the picture. Nice shots.

[NorthernFocus]

Thanks for the comments, folks. I've been trying to get some decent shots of these guys for some time. They are really difficult to get close to without disturbing them. They typically either swim away or flush. I couldn't believe my luck when I paddled into the little cove and found three separate pairs of mates that were basically so busy as to ignore me but so active as to present some interesting shots. At first I thought there was no chance of a decent shot with only the 200mm that I had with me. But they were very accomadating with their courtship taking off, landing back down, and flying right by me several times. I was bound to hit something sooner or later

[Brownbear]

Hi Dan,

Thank you for sharing. All beautiful images of a beautiful duck. Hard to pick a favourite but I adore the 1st image for the composition, and the 3rd image for the light and the beauty of the water and the gorgeous splashes.

[Wavelength]

Really a pleasing set of images

[bnnrcn]

Nice series Dan. I especially like #1 with lovely colours and composition

[jprzybyla]

Nice series Dan, I like all of them but the fourth is my favorite. Excellent flight image.

[FrankMi]

I like them all Dan, but the last image is my favorite!

[jamn4ex]

I agree with Frank. all great images But the last is my favorite too.

[NorthernFocus]

Thanks for the comments, folks. Glad you enjoyed the images. These guys are comical to watch this time of year. The male will not let the female get more than a couple of feet away. Wherever she goes he is right behind as demonstrated in the takeoff and flight shots(two different pairs of birds by the way).

The last shot is my favorite from the standpoint that it's my first decent flight shot of harlequins. I was lucky for them to fly close enough to make the capture with 200mm, to get them both in the frame, and to have it all happen with a pretty good BG. I focused on the drake so in the uncropped version he is in center of frame. The hen is just at the edge of DOF on the near side. The prior frame or two as they approached my position the hen was too far outside DOF to be usable. Which demonstrates why it's a good idea to shoot multiple frames when shooting wildlife

[wtlwdwgn]

Beautiful series.