Monday, May 11, 2009

Bird Photography Weekly: Whistling Ducks

I have had several good opportunities since the beginning of the year to see Black-bellied Whistling Ducks, but for one reason or another had never come away with any decent photographs of them. But it was one of the first birds I saw when I arrived at Brazos Bend State Park, flying over the parking lot toward 40-acre Lake.

Black-bellied Whistling Duck - 4/24/2009
Black-bellied Whistling Duck (Dendrocygna autumnalis)

We got several good looks at the whistling ducks throughout the morning, both in the lake and perched on various stumps and trees around the water's edge. But the best by far was this pair that was perched atop a trailside nesting box.

Black-bellied Whistling Ducks - 4/24/2009

You can see the entire set of shots from Brazos Bend here.


For more great bird photos from around the world, check out Bird Photography Weekly #37.

Bird Photography Weekly

13 comments:

Kelly said...

Wow! These are spectacular with such rich color! The two sitting on the nesting box are beautiful.

Bob Kaufman said...

Lovely shots, Kyle. Those two on top of the nest box are just gorgeous!

gwendolen said...

Love the photos, they are such handsome ducks. Such loooong legs :-))

Dawn Fine said...

Great shots! They are so beautiful..

mick said...

Very impressive photos - especially the in-flight shot!

Neil said...

Beautiful looking ducks love the one in flight.

Larry Jordan said...

Super captures of the Black-bellied Whistling Ducks Kyle! I love the in flight shot.

BTW everyone, make sure you click on Kyle's link to his photo set of Brazos Bend to see some unbelievable Green Heron captures.

Redzlan aka Tabib said...

Beautiful!. I love that in flight shot.

Kyle said...

Thanks, gang! I'm still working hard on the "in-flight" photo skills, but I'm gradually getting the hang of it...

Brad Myers said...

Beautiful birds, great photos. First time by and I have enjoyed your site.

Vickie said...

Beautiful images! It looks like they posed for you on that nest box!

Anonymous said...

Holy Cow. The 2 on the nest box are gorgeous! Great shot.

Eve said...

Those ducks are beautiful! I've never seen that type before.