Retro Post... Aythya valisineria... "The Boys of Winter"

I'm not walking due to the wonderful rain we are having in Southern California so I thought this would be a good time for me to post another of my favorite blast from the past "morning walk" e-mails from last year.

December 12, 2013

This is the kind of weather that birder/photographers all dream of. It's December and the sun is out, the sky is clear and the air crisp and chilly. There is just a whisper of a breeze. What a fantastic morning... all I can hope for is that there will be lots of bird subjects to photograph at the Lagoon... but nothing can disappoint me when the weather is this gorgeous. 

It is a special treat to be the first photographer in the morning at the San Elijo Lagoon Ecological Reserve. The gate was still locked to the parking lot... it's so quiet, you can feel the calm and peacefulness as the birds are just waking up and starting their quest for food. The first subject of interest that I spot is a Western Meadowlark. It flew towards the south point of the lagoon... now I am on the chase!

This is no way to start a morning walk. That spooked lark flew to the other side of the tide channel. But now I know it likes the south end so I will be watching for him. Now a blur of olive-colored bird catches my attention. I'm guessing this is a juvenile or a female Common Yellowthroat. This bug-gleaning, gnat-chasing, fidgety bird is more frustrating to shoot than a lark... It quickly disappears into the thick marsh plants.

I lose interest waiting for the little fidgety bird to reappear and I walk towards the boardwalk to see if there are any new arrivals. An American Avocet comes flying by, fast and low. It's right in the sun's glare, the worst angle to shoot a good subject.

Walking east by the boardwalk, I find nothing but the regular groupings of dabbling ducks near the far bank. They are too far and the sun is right in my eyes. I decide to look for that darn Meadowlark again. Last time I spotted it, it was near the bridge. Getting to the bridge I decide to try the "wait and see" method of birding.  If you stand real still and melt into your surroundings they will usually come out of hiding. The sun felt good on my back as I rested and leaned against the bridge railings... waiting... waiting... checking to my right, checking to my left... OMG !!! I could not believe my eyes! Looking south I see two male Canvasbacks swimming my way. As I walk towards them at the southern point of the lagoon, they spook and turn east! Oh nooo!   If they fly, I will be shooting right into the sun.  Too late, another step towards these beautiful diving ducks and they start to run on water. I hold my breath and begin to shoot... clicking as fast as my camera will allow which is about 8 shots per second. I must have taken about 25 to 30 shots before they were out of sight. As I reviewed my shots in the camera to see how they turned out, none came out worth saving! All you could see were dark outlines. All the shots were backlit by the sun with no details of their beautiful red eyes or their canvas-textured white backs or the details of the wings and feathers. This is when you wish you could take these shots over again from a better angle... I needed a do-over!!

Well, as the saying goes "you can't cry over spilt milk". Soon my attention is diverted to a black and white bird that was swimming fast towards the bridge.  Here I go, back to the bridge following the cute little male Bufflehead. He is diving and swimming north. He came up from a dive and faced the light for me to get a shot of its cute little head. The eyes are really hard to photograph on this little bird but you can see it in this photo.

Relaxing against the bridge railing and looking at the latest shots of the Bufflehead, I glanced south again and could not believe what I was seeing... it was "the boys" again, "Aythya valisineria", Canvasback Ducks or as I call them "the boys of winter" because they are like rock stars to the birders/photographers. Canvasback ducks are diving ducks, beautiful rust-colored head and neck with blackish breast, black beak and red eyes. They measure 21 inches long and have a wingspan of 29 inches. Canvasbacks eat aquatic plants and mollusks and are known to be very very shy with humans. I think it's because they are such a favorite among duck hunters. They get part of their name from the aquatic plant they love to eat, the wild celery or Vallisneria americana, and the hunters love the flavor of this duck as its meat has great flavor from the plants it eats.

This time I am not going to spook them. I walk on the inside of the trail, away from the lagoon tide channel side and keep an even pace. I keep my camera close to my side and don't stop until I get past them. I take a quick snap. They look worried. I have to position myself south of these boys and get ready for them to spook towards me. Ok, I am in position, I know they will spook. Here comes a lady with a dog... perfect! They spot the lady with the dog and both Canvasbacks turn facing south, towards me... here we go... get your camera ready Jo!!!!

My heart is beating like a hummingbird... LOL, well it feels like it is!  I get to have my DO - OVER ! Camera in hand, ready, get set... and they are off !! One is already starting to run... now I have to decide how to take the shots and I only have a fraction of a second to decide where and which one to focus on... I want both but if they split too far apart, I may get nothing. The depth of field is also a challenge. My camera is going to focus on only one... unless they are very close together.

The second Canvasback pushes his body up out of the water and is ready to take a stride.... the one close to me has already taken two steps... this is so awesome to see.  What a wonderful early Christmas gift!!

Now they are directly in front of me and they are following the curve of the lagoon going east... thank goodness they decided to follow the tide channel east. They could have gone south at the fork but they instinctively chose the larger body of water and I think the narrowing of the tide channel south wasn't inviting to them. My guess is that they wanted to stick with the bigger body of water and that is just perfect for me to get some flight shots.

I am focusing and clicking away as fast as possible.  They are going as fast as they can to take flight, but they are big diving birds and need almost twenty running steps to launch and get airborne.  What a wonderful photo opportunity this has become...

As they get closer, I choose to focus on the one on the outside. He is flapping his wings and this shot shows the beautiful underside of his wings as his big powerful short legs are racing across the water, digging in and pushing forward.

He is now in a full run. Long strides with his wings working hard. What a gorgeous sight! Look at those powerful big webbed feet... perfect for diving and running on water. Wow what a beautiful sight!

We have lift-off! He is airborne and I am not breathing.... don't need to breathe. He will be up and away in a second!

His legs are tucked back now and he is up and flying... picking up quite a bit of speed.

What a beautiful duck. I am so very happy that I got another chance to get the flight shots.

Look at his beautiful gray/white feathers on his wings. I am mesmerized looking through the camera lens at these Boys of Winter! To me, they truly are the rock stars of the birding world.

He looks a little thin... I'm sure he has traveled a long way. Hope he settles down in our beautiful lagoon and gets plenty to eat. Canvasbacks feed either by dabbling on the surface of the water or by diving below the surface. They usually feed by diving, feeding on aquatic plants, pondweeds, wild celery, duck potato, wild rice, banana water lily, and milfoils. Animal material that is consumed are mollusks, insects, and various fish, feeding mostly during the day but sometimes they feed at night.

These two drakes are here first but they will probably be joined by the females soon. Canvasbacks do not mate for life. Pairs form in late winter and early spring. A mated pair will produce a brood of 7 - 9 eggs each year. The female incubates the eggs for 24 -28 days and hatchlings leave the nest almost immediately, following their mother and foraging for food. They fledge in 55- 60 days.  As soon as the females have laid their eggs, the males desert their mates and gather in large flocks on lakes and larger sloughs to molt as they are unable to fly for about two weeks. Canvasbacks' main breeding range is in central Canada and the northern United States. Smaller numbers breed as far north as Alaska.

Canvasbacks winter mainly along the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of the United States and south of our borders. Large numbers winter in the coastal regions of southern Maryland and Virginia. I feel so privileged to have seen and photographed these two beautiful male Canvasbacks today. They are so very shy, I never take them for granted! They might leave for a quieter place tomorrow.

Today has been a wonderful birding photo day for me and I'm eager to get home to download the photos. My last look at these handsome ducks as they disappear around the east bend...

Have a wonderful day everyone.