[Leica] IMG: February is duck month

[wildlightphoto at earthlink.net (Doug Herr)]

For most of the month I've concentrated on the central valley's anatidae 
(ducks, geese and swans).  Before long spring duck migration will be upon us 
(it has already begun for Sandhill Cranes and hummingbirds).  The male ducks 
have their brightest plumage of the year and toward the end of hunting 
season they've learned where people are benign.  The month started for me 
with a trip to Chico California; several good duck refuges along the way 
provided opportunities for photos of Snow Goose, Greater White-fronted Goose 
and American Wigeon:

http://wildlightphoto.com/birds/anatidae/sngoos06.html
http://wildlightphoto.com/birds/anatidae/gwgoos06.html

http://wildlightphoto.com/birds/anatidae/amwige01.html
http://wildlightphoto.com/birds/anatidae/amwige02.html

between duck refuges I also spotted a Ferruginous Hawk, a winter visitor to 
the area:

http://wildlightphoto.com/birds/accipitridae/fehawk05.html

(all the above photos: R8/DMR, Leitz Novoflex 560mm f/6.8 Telyt)

I was diverted from ducks mid-month by reports of Rock Wrens at nearby 
Folsom Lake.  The Rock Wren is a species I have very few adequate photos of 
so I spent a couple of weekends tracking this bird down:

http://wildlightphoto.com/birds/troglodytidae/rowren01.html
http://wildlightphoto.com/birds/troglodytidae/rowren02.html

(Rock Wren: R8/DMR, 280mm f/4 APO-Telyt-R, 2x APO-Extender-R)

And to finish the month I ducked out at Colusa National Wildlife Refuge.  
The male ducks are easy to distinguish from each other:

http://wildlightphoto.com/birds/anatidae/citeal04.html
http://wildlightphoto.com/birds/anatidae/gwteal03.html
http://wildlightphoto.com/birds/anatidae/nopint02.html
http://wildlightphoto.com/birds/anatidae/noshov05.html

Female ducks are more difficult to identify but the details in the bills 
reveal their secret identities.  The Northern Shoveler has a big dorky bill:

http://wildlightphoto.com/birds/anatidae/noshov04.html

The Northern Pintail's bill is uniformly (or nearly so) dark:

http://wildlightphoto.com/birds/anatidae/nopint05.html

and the Gadwall's bill is yellow-and-black mottled:

http://wildlightphoto.com/birds/anatidae/gadwal06.html

Another bird which can be identified by the bill is the Ross's Goose.  This 
species is very similar to the Snow Goose (first link in this post) but has 
a smaller bill which lacks the black "lips" of the Snow Goose:

http://wildlightphoto.com/birds/anatidae/rogoos01.html

Something spooked the Ross's Goose flock and they all left in a flurry of 
wings and water spray:

http://wildlightphoto.com/birds/anatidae/rogoos02.html

(R8/DMR, 280mm f/4 APO with and without extenders)

All comments welcome.

Doug Herr
Birdman of Sacramento
http://www.wildlightphoto.com