Harlequin Ducks

[ngannet]

One of the (only) reasons to look forward to winter is the awesome birds that come down here. These were taken at Barnegat Light, one of the best-known areas as a winter stopover for these beautiful birds. It is so dependable that they will be there and they are not very scared of people. It almost seems as they welcome the attention!

http://www.pbase.com/ngannet/image/53394957.jpg

http://www.pbase.com/ngannet/image/53394959.jpg

http://www.pbase.com/ngannet/image/53394962.jpg

http://www.pbase.com/ngannet/image/53394970.jpg

[Wayne Wood]

they are beautiful that's for sure ,,, thanx for sharing

[Robert_Lay]

I've never seen anything like that before - thank you for sharing.

I like the composition and the interest of #1 much better than #2, which seems a little tightly cropped.

The baby in front heightens the interest level.

[ngannet]

Thanks for the comments! Robert, I should have noted earlier that those shots aren't cropped! Only the last shot was cropped. That's how close and crowded they were! I do agree, I wish I could have stepped back more or if I had a smaller lens it would have framed the shot better. But I'm still happy with them.

[Gary Fairhead]

They are beautiful ...you are lucky indeed. Nice shots!

[KaplanMultimedia]

Nice shots. These guys sure have some terrific coloration.

[tomwilli]

Great shots. The last one shows a little dust on the sensor or lens. Right top qtr.

[ngannet]

Thanks all! Tomwilli: Not dust, as the shot before and after do not have this and there was no sensor cleaning soooo....either water droplets or ufos or something! I think water droplets as he was preening and splashing around a bit.

[CyberDyneSystems]

Great shots! They are superb looking creatures :)

[Mitcon]

Fantastic little lookers aren't they. Wonderful shots too, really love the last 2.