A couple of years ago, I was in Vancouver, Washington, and was fortunate to visit a little duck pond that was part of Salmon Creek. I managed to get my gear down there a few mornings to see some of the local bird life. Here is some of what I saw.
One of the birds that demanded an early dawn session was the wood duck. After sunrise, they all but disappeared, usually retreating to the dark recesses of the pond and hiding in the vegetation. The shot above and the image at the top of the page were taken just before sunrise, as these drakes were just waking up. I’ve always been a fan of one of the most colorful ducks in North America.
Next were the sparrows, a fat golden-crowned and this adorable song sparrow that seemed to play peek-a-boo with me as he hopped around a mossy log. In order to really emphasize the sparrow from the busy log, I had the aperture wide open, blurring the background as much as possible. The eye-autofocus tracking of my camera helped me quickly lock focus on the bird’s eye as soon as he peeked around the branch.
Living in California, I was more used to seeing California towhees, with the spotted towhees being much less common. But up in Washington, these guys were abundant, giving me lots of great opportunities.
Finally, some winter-time ducks graced the pond. I found this American wigeon on a very still morning, with a strong water reflection. Because the scene was so beautiful and serene, I backed away and captured a habitat photo. Unlike the song sparrow above, I narrowed the aperture to add some of the chaos of the water’s edge.
Hooded merganser breeding pairs were also regular winter visitors. On top is a male with his black and white striking head pattern, and below is his mate gathering nesting material. I like the photo of the female as the colors reflected in the water give a feeling of fall.
Of course no outing would be complete without the requisite rabbit photo. This time it’s the Eastern cottontail, which are abundant in Vancouver. These are some of the laziest wild animals I’ve ever seen, with so much residential lawn available, they really don’t have to work hard for a meal.