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Blue Moon's Bufflehead and Canvasback Shots #11329586 01/07/16 09:02 PM
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Blue Moon Offline OP
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Buffleheads are North America’s smallest diving duck; similar in size to a Green-winged Teal. The ancients called Buffleheads Spirit Ducks for their mystical ability to disappear just as you pull the trigger. Besides diving, they launch into flight with fewer steps compared to other divers.



From a photography standpoint, size, speed and ultrafast wingbeats make the Bufflehead one of the most challenging ducks to capture in flight. While I shoot with both a Canon and Benelli, I know firsthand that all ducks are significantly easier to shoot with my Benelli. On the other hand, just about any flight shots of Buffleheads are trophies for wildlife photographers. Female Buffleheads are smaller and darker with less white war paint on their cheeks compared to drakes.



If hunters or photographers are looking up, they often miss approaching Bufflehead. These tiny ducks tend to fly in low, right on the deck low, and wicked fast. The inbound drakes have fat white bellies. They remind me of playing baseball and look like low fast balls hurling toward the plate.

Drakes appear white and black in overcast or indirect light conditions but close-up shots captured in direct light reveal the drakes’ iridescent purple and green forehead and throat feathers. These shots were captured in January 2016, along the Central Flyway in North Texas.


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Over the Christmas holiday, on a dark, overcast day in Oklahoma, I managed a few Canvasback shots.



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As the most common duck in North America, I tend to shoot a lot of drake mallard landing shots. Just like hunting, the trick to getting a good shot is to understand the role the wind and sun play on the outcome. Besides setting up for great light, my goal is to capture wing motion but I also want sharp bills and eyes. After thousands of mallard shots, having a goal in mind keeps the thrill in the chase. Drake Mallard landing in twilight; Central Flyway, Christmas holidays 2015.


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I’m not a fan of overly processed images with unnatural, oversaturated colors. On the other hand sometimes the sunrise is dreamlike when the first rays of light chase the night away. This was the 2015 winter solstice sunrise over secluded water a few weeks ago.



Blue Moon

Re: Blue Moon's Bufflehead and Canvasback Shots [Re: Blue Moon] #11329664 01/07/16 09:23 PM
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coolphotos Awesome post. Thanks for sharing. cheers


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Re: Blue Moon's Bufflehead and Canvasback Shots [Re: Blue Moon] #11329666 01/07/16 09:23 PM
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Beautiful shots! I have a 40D and a couple of redline lenses but none are big telephoto. The drake mallard looks almost like you got him to flare into a filtered remote fill-flash to illuminate his breast so nicely! (Wouldn't that level of cooperation be a feat? roflmao )

What lense were you using for the in-flight shots such as the mallard?

Have you ever seen the NOVA episode about training geese to fly formation for photography?

Re: Blue Moon's Bufflehead and Canvasback Shots [Re: Flippin-Out] #11333151 01/09/16 08:38 AM
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Originally Posted By: Flippin-Out
Beautiful shots! I have a 40D and a couple of redline lenses but none are big telephoto. The drake mallard looks almost like you got him to flare into a filtered remote fill-flash to illuminate his breast so nicely! (Wouldn't that level of cooperation be a feat? roflmao )

What lense were you using for the in-flight shots such as the mallard?

Have you ever seen the NOVA episode about training geese to fly formation for photography?

Many thanks for the kind words, they’re always appreciated. Flippin-Out, regarding your 40D, it’s still good body. It shines for wildlife especially with a 100-400L or 400 f/5.6L attached or any combo that lets you reach out to at least 300mm. Before the 40D came out, I shot with a 30D for a few years when I was transitioning from film and really honed my bird in flight skills using just a 70-200 f/2.8L plus extender before I added the 100-400L and 400 f/5.6L to my quiver. These days you can find great deals on preowned 400 f/5.6L and the original 100-400L since Canon released the new version of the 100-400L.

Regarding the lighting on the mallard shot, it was captured in natural light in the final moments of available light as the sun was just about to set. For waterfowl I’m normally shooting with a Canon 1D Mk IV and 500 f/4L when I can set up with a tripod or I’ll use the 100-400L if I’m handholding when shooting from a kayak or pit blind.

Regarding NOVA, I’m not sure if I saw that specific show but I’m familiar with Operation Migration, the group that teaches geese and Whoopers to migrate using ultralight aircraft. On a similar note, for a number of years I was fortunate to have a stick and rudder, high wing bush plane that was approved for solo photography. It had external camera mounts and I could operate the shutters from switches on the stick. This was a decade before GoPro was available. I have fond memories of flying up and down the North American Flyways capturing images of waterfowl roosts and wetland habitat. It was a fun time as it combined my passion for flying, photography, and waterfowling while exploring remote regions of North America.

Blue Moon

Re: Blue Moon's Bufflehead and Canvasback Shots [Re: Blue Moon] #11333224 01/09/16 01:16 PM
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Nice pics


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Re: Blue Moon's Bufflehead and Canvasback Shots [Re: Blue Moon] #11333295 01/09/16 01:59 PM
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Blue Moon,

Thanks for the info. Interesting you mention your history with a bush plane. I soloed in 1978 and was checked out in 17 different aircraft along the way if I remember correctly - I'd have to review my logbook to confirm. The most interesting was a 1930's Luscombe that my initial flight instructor had found in a barn and restored. (He also had an A&P certification.) I enjoyed making numerous trips to various Bahamas out-islands when I lived in south Florida. NOVA has dropped a lot of episodes from the video vault now; unfortunately the documentary on Operation Migration is no longer available. I figured the mallard's breast was illuminated by late light that's more highly filtered, with the joke about a flash just for fun.

Re: Blue Moon's Bufflehead and Canvasback Shots [Re: Blue Moon] #11333439 01/09/16 03:14 PM
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Those Sir are all great photo's!!! flehan

Re: Blue Moon's Bufflehead and Canvasback Shots [Re: Blue Moon] #11333442 01/09/16 03:15 PM
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cheers

Re: Blue Moon's Bufflehead and Canvasback Shots [Re: Blue Moon] #11334562 01/10/16 12:09 AM
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WOW...don't know what else to say but WOW!


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Re: Blue Moon's Bufflehead and Canvasback Shots [Re: Blue Moon] #11337545 01/11/16 04:24 AM
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Very cool


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Re: Blue Moon's Bufflehead and Canvasback Shots [Re: Blue Moon] #11337569 01/11/16 04:35 AM
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Hey! moon is back and shooting better than ever..


Hooking a fish is like playing string with a cat. The exact size, shape, color of string matters less than how you wiggle it- and little cats are easier to fool than big ones. John Gierach
Re: Blue Moon's Bufflehead and Canvasback Shots [Re: Blue Moon] #11342795 01/13/16 01:36 PM
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very nice photos. Still lacking the canvasback mount on my wall. good looking ducks.

Re: Blue Moon's Bufflehead and Canvasback Shots [Re: Blue Moon] #11345230 01/14/16 01:56 PM
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Very nice! Thanks for sharing.

Re: Blue Moon's Bufflehead and Canvasback Shots [Re: Blue Moon] #11350331 01/16/16 08:50 PM
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thumb


Re: Blue Moon's Bufflehead and Canvasback Shots [Re: Blue Moon] #11356072 01/19/16 06:44 PM
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Really nice photos!


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