Nothing extraordinary to report from today, but the ducks were pretty and happy to pose for the camera.
I caught this group while they were still asleep this morning.
This very pretty female was photographed later in the day.
The male mallards were also parading around.
As for the next ducks (the white ducks and the runner ducks), a local filled me in on a little of their history. Apparently they were domestic ducks which have been relocated to the pond. Whatever their background, they are clearly thriving, and the male runner seems determined to add to the local stock. He is by a long way the most rampant drake on the pond.
This of course isn't a duck, but I liked the shot.
And to close, a first for me at the local pond. It doesn't look unusual, but it is in fact a lesser black backed gull. The key identifier in the shot are the yellow legs. The upper side of the wings (not in shot) are a very dark grey which clearly distinguished it from the herring gulls. The greater black backed gulls are larger, tend to have pink/flesh coloured legs and almost jet black wings.
Camera note: all shots taken with the Canon 7D and EF 200mm f/2.8L II USM.
derWandersmann
17 Mar 2012Excellent shots, Words! The gull is a real prize, and the white duck makes me laugh.
gdare
17 Mar 2012Black headed and herring gulls are the only gulls I can see a difference 😆
cakkleberrylane
18 Mar 2012Wonderful shots! Congratulations on the lesser black backed gull!
SittingFox
19 Mar 2012Lesser black backed gulls have a strange chuckling call, if I remember correctly.
derWandersmann
19 Mar 2012LOL … I was once alone on a little island in the Penobscot Bay, in Maine, and was making an early-morning circuit, both for exercise, and for the same reason the bear went over the mountain, when I kept hearing a soft, chuckling laugh. I looked around, but saw no one, and so continued my walk. Well, I can tell you, after 15 or 20 minutes of this, I was more than a little spooked! Finally, I caught sight of a gull, roughly paralleling my course, about 50 feet out over the water, and he was the one laughing at me. He was probably looking for breakfast, but I didn't even think about that, I was so relieved. The species is called (I later found out, by consulting my bird book) "laughing gull", and they surely deserve the name. 😆 😆
Words
19 Mar 2012Darko, it gets easier over time, but I'm still hopeless with 'common gulls'.
Words
19 Mar 2012Adele, I'm not sure what their call is like. This one was keeping quiet (unlike the black-headed variety).
Words
19 Mar 2012dW, great story! I'll have to keep my ears open next time I see one of them.
Words
19 Mar 2012Lois, thanks. I've generally only seen lesser black-backed gulls in central London (by the Thames).
Words
19 Mar 2012dW, I was surprised to see the gull hidden among all the others. it must have been passing through as I've not seen it since.