Spring Waterfowl Part 2 - Mates

[NorthernFocus]

Love is definitely in the air down at the marsh. As explained in Part 1, these were shot one evening and the following morning.

The first two are evening shots captured with D7200 and Nikkor 200-500mm f5.6E.

1) Northern Pintail pair.



2) Ring Necked Ducks.



That afternoon I saw a pair of red necked grebes (I'm not making that up) building a nest right in front of the viewing area where I shoot. One of my bucket list shoots is to catch grebes doing their mating dance. So the next morning I took the tripod with 500mm/D810 with the intent to zero it in on them and leave it set while I shot other stuff with my handheld kit. Nos 3, 4, and 5 are shot with D810/500mm.

3) It was a misty morning. I was surprised to see a couple of Tundra Swans. They usually only stop here in the fall. The two have a lot of grey feathers so must be juvies. B/W seemed to be the best way to take advantage of the fog.



4) Unfortunately, the grebes skipped the foreplay dance.



5) And had a smoke after...



Nos 6, 7, and 8 captured handheld w/D7200 and 200-500mm.

6) A couple of Canada Geese coming in just above the fog.



7) But it's not all wine and roses.



8) And hormones rule. I think that's a lady out front and four guys chasing her.

[Dave Humphries]

Yeah, I'm liking that 200-500 Dan,

BTW #2 in this thread is showing as "protected" to us (no doubt you can see it)

#6 is my pick of this bunch.

Thanks, Dave

[Ziggy]

Another nice series of shots Dan. I really like both #3 and #6.

I also cannot see #2.

[Shadowman]

Nice series. Are these images hosted on zenfolio, I have seen this type of protection popping up on other sites?

[rudi]

Good series again Dan, hard to pick a favourite !!

[NorthernFocus]

Glad you folks enjoyed the post. Thanks for pointing out that I had the wrong link for no.2. It should be fixed now.

John, yes these images are hosted on Zenfolio. In a hurry I grabbed the link to the original image rather than a link open to public access. Since I have access I could see the image here on CIC therefore didn't notice the mistake.

[Dave Humphries]

Since I have access I could see the image here on CIC therefore didn't notice the mistake.

Yup, been there, done that myself

[bnnrcn]

Another lovely set Dan, they are all very nice. My fav is #1 with great golden light

[NorthernFocus]

Thanks, Binnur. Yes it was some lovely light that evening as well as the next morning. We've been having a run of crystal clear weather and the light up here is lovely when it's like this.

[zen]

Number 6 is dynamite! Thanks for sharing.

Zen

[Cantab]

I particularly enjoyed the first two shots. Maybe these individuals are the pintails and ring necked ducks that winter in my part of the world -- nice to see them in their summer habitat.

[IzzieK]

I cannot fault your birdies, Dan...I like the commentaries and the angles of the shots. #4 and#5 are made interesting by your comments about them and with the last ones...

[NorthernFocus]

Glad you guys enjoyed the shots. Thanks for the comments.

I particularly enjoyed the first two shots. Maybe these individuals are the pintails and ring necked ducks that winter in my part of the world -- nice to see them in their summer habitat.

Bruce, most of them don't hang around here. They're just passing through on their way to the northern tundra lands. Literally tens of thousands of ponds and holes for them find nesting sites.

[FlyingSquirrel]

#3 and #6. I am a huge sucker for fog and atmospheric images. Lovely!