Some more photos I took a few weeks ago. This time, shorebirds. Before the birding course, all birds on water were the same to me. Now I can tell the difference between some of them. And oh… they can fly too other than swim. I’m learning everyday, weather permitting.
Common Goldeneye, male:
Common Goldeneye, female:
Male and female Mallard, first time I noticed the beautiful metallic blue on the male wing:
Canada Geese by the snowy shore:
Taking flight:
This one so close, it’s like I’m flying with them, no cropping has been done:
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Thanks to Alyce of At Home With Books for hosting Saturday Snapshot.
Ripple Effects 
Fabulous shots! It’s been so long since we’ve walked anywhere to capture photos of birds…sigh. Have a great weekend.
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Ellen,
You too. Have a wonderful week prep. for Christmas.
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Those are terrific bird shots! I like the goldeneyes flying so close to the water. Such beautiful markings!
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joyweesemoll,
Thanks for stopping by and leaving your comment. Yes, they were quite a sight to behold… and I’m glad they’re still here, even today. 😉
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Great shots! The water’s so blue, too. My favorite is the one with the geese flying over you. You’re an excellent nature photographer Arti.
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lameadventures,
I went back there today and there were still a lot of Can. Geese gathering. And I got a good shot of a blad eagle flying overhead.
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Those shots just got better and better! The Canada Geese shots were my favorites, especially the one of them taking off.
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Thanks Alyce. I went back to that River bank today and there were still a lot of Can. Geese … even in -12C. I got a few good shots of a Bald Eagle flying right above me. Maybe some future Sat. Snapshot I’ll post. THanks for hosting this… I really appreciate the chance to share photos. 😉
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I really enjoy seeing the different birds that we see in our far flung places on this earth. I love, love, love that last shot- but then Canada Geese have long been a favourite- I lived in Canada for a few years in the 80s, long before I was into birding, and enjoyed seeing them then. That first duck pair is beautiful too, I haven’t seen them before.
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Louise,
I’m glad you used to know this far flung place. 😉 Thanks for stopping by the pond.
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Wow! Impressive shots. I especially love the one of them all lined up on the shore, and then taking flight. Thanks for sharing…and for visiting my blog.
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laurelrainsnow,
It’s always a pleasure to visit your blog and have you stop by the pond here. Thanks for leaving a comment. Yes, that was quite a site that day. Too many birds to aim at.
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We have a common wildflower here called a goldeneye, but I’ve never seen the bird. Beautiful! The mallards are lovely, aren’t they? I just walked out on the balcony and did a quick count – there are about 45 down there right now. Around here, the flocks are interesting because some are migrants and some are resident. The year-rounders will breed with the Muscovy’s, resulting in some unique crosses that are deep brown and black with white chests.
I’m still hoping to find some geese. We’ve been so short on water that most of them are east of here, where there’s been more rain and where there are more farmers who will flood their fields. Your photo of the birds in flight is extraordinary. It does seem like we could reach out and touch them.
I saw a least grebe yesterday. Little by little, the migrants are straggling in!
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Linda,
It’s only after I’ve taken up birding, following the group to all the nature areas right here in my City that I’ve never been to in the past decades I’ve lived here, that I began to see the differences between the swimmers… I’ve some distant, blurry pictures of Buffleheads, Teals, Wigeons, Mergansers, Grebes… but can never tell which is which when I get home since they’re so far away. But I’m just amazed at how much I’ve missed all these years.
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Oh my what wonderful captures.
I am full of sadness the weekend over the tragedy in CT. How very sad, tragic and difficult to understand. We live about 1.5 hours from Newtown:( No reading for me this weekend, nor much time on the computer).
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Diane,
You’re indeed so very close. My heart goes out to all there… no words can express. One of the victims is a little girl from Canada, whose family just moved to the U.S. two months ago.
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Oh, that shot of the geese taking off is glorious. I love the blue of the water against the spread of feathers.
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nikkipolani,
Yes, the water was lovely, blue and clear. One thing for sure, here the air is crisp and water is clean. The first two of the Goldeneyes were taken at another spot at another time, so you can see the difference in the water color. But I don’t understand why the magenta, Monet like effects on the water. (I didn’t do anything to change the color of my photos)
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Sometimes reflections and refractions take unexpected turns through the camera lens. I like the range of colors in those shots, though — gives really nice depth.
I find that my little camera (Canon G10 sometimes wigs out completely with bright skies. But for outdoor quickie photos usually with higher contrast, it does a better job than my big camera (Rebel XTi).
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Don’t you love the blue on mallard wings? We see a lot of these here and I just love them. There’s something about ducks — I keep taking pix of them and they all look the same! But it doesn’t stop me!
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Jeanie,
As you know I’m a novice at birding. It’s my first time noticing the blue on the Mallard wing. So beautiful. Isn’t it quite ‘sad’ to see male birds are usually more colorful and glamorous than females?
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I love mallards! They migrate to warmer climes in the winter but spring and summer they hang out at all the lakes. They pick some really odd places to nest too which always worries me a little that they will get bothered by dogs, cats or kids. Do your geese stay all winter? Ours go south to I don’t know where. I think anyone who can goes south during the winter, even people! 😉
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Stefanie,
I think most of the Geese do migrate, but I learn also that a lot of birds, swimmers too, just stay in the icy rivers here. I’ve seen them swimming in the winter ice. And oh, all the Robins, Chickadees, Nuthatches, Woodpeckers…. they all stay here in -20C temp. Just amazing.
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