This cutie was hugging the shore today looking for something, or maybe just drying off in the sun. No sign of the drake. No, I really didn’t get that close — it’s a 300mm zoom. Eventually she headed out of range. Again the compression of perspective & shallow depth of field (well, it’s distortion really) …
Handsome, eh? He’s a green-winged teal drake. But the real highlight was the Wood Ducks. There’s an active nesting-box program for the wood ducks at Piper Spit, and plenty of ducks to show for it. They’re amazing-looking. The drake: and the hen: and again, from behind:
Or at least, I think so. They start at the head, before they risk flightlessness, but I’m not sure what’s bleached the colour out of his beak. Here are some more pictures, playing with the reflection of the sky in the water. In this one, it’s possible to confuse them. Vancouver’s tendency toward overcast is …