1605_2978 Canvasback
Wary prairie duck shot number 2 (of 4) is a Canvasback drake. Love the red eye!
The "prairie pothole" region north and east of my location is our duck factory. Tens of thousands of ponds and small lakes dot the prairie landscape. Most of them were created by the retreating glacier sheet at the end of the most recent Ice Age (about 11,500 years ago). Enormous chunks of ice would break off and be left behind: some would take 100 years to melt. Their weight would cause the saturated soil around them to compress and sink; when the ice was finally gone, a water-filled depression would remain.
This is just a grab shot. An eye-level POV would be better, ie. more intimate, and it would probably improve the background too. There's just no substitute for eye level views, and that's why I sat on this shot for six years. The details are excellent, though.
Canvasbacks are Pochards, of the genus Aythya, which means they are related to Redheads, Ring-necked Ducks, and Scaups. They are diving ducks with heavy bodies, and legs set far back and wide apart, which makes them very awkward on land - not unlike loons and grebes - but superbly adapted to these prairie wetlands.
Photographed south of Dana, Saskatchewan (Canada). Don't use this image on websites, blogs, or other media without explicit permission ©2016 James R. Page - all rights reserved.
1605_2978 Canvasback
Wary prairie duck shot number 2 (of 4) is a Canvasback drake. Love the red eye!
The "prairie pothole" region north and east of my location is our duck factory. Tens of thousands of ponds and small lakes dot the prairie landscape. Most of them were created by the retreating glacier sheet at the end of the most recent Ice Age (about 11,500 years ago). Enormous chunks of ice would break off and be left behind: some would take 100 years to melt. Their weight would cause the saturated soil around them to compress and sink; when the ice was finally gone, a water-filled depression would remain.
This is just a grab shot. An eye-level POV would be better, ie. more intimate, and it would probably improve the background too. There's just no substitute for eye level views, and that's why I sat on this shot for six years. The details are excellent, though.
Canvasbacks are Pochards, of the genus Aythya, which means they are related to Redheads, Ring-necked Ducks, and Scaups. They are diving ducks with heavy bodies, and legs set far back and wide apart, which makes them very awkward on land - not unlike loons and grebes - but superbly adapted to these prairie wetlands.
Photographed south of Dana, Saskatchewan (Canada). Don't use this image on websites, blogs, or other media without explicit permission ©2016 James R. Page - all rights reserved.