Sterne Park and South Platte Park: January 2018

On my last day in Colorado, I stopped at Sterne Park looking for Wood Ducks.  I'd gotten some great shots of them there in the past, and haven't had similar success yet in Texas.  It had been in the early fall, and I wasn't sure if there would be any in January.  But it was a short drive and I figured it wouldn't hurt to check.

To save on the suspense, I'll let you know now that I saw no wood ducks.  I did see a Ring-billed Gull steal a crayfish from a Hooded Merganser, though.

Speaking of the Merganser, there was actually both a drake and hen coasting around the little bit of open water left on the pond, kept that way by a filtration system.

I struggled with both distance and light trying to get something great of the pair.  Ultimately, I don't think I got anything better than simply "good."

Even "good" with a striking bird like this one is all right, though.

From Sterne Park I headed to South Platte Park, where I came up empty on a trip to the blind.  My walk back to my car during golden hour did yield a nice look at a pair of Mallard drakes on the river.

Ducks are not my best friends in the world of photography subjects.  Most of the time they fly off before I get anywhere near close enough for a decent shot.  Sometimes, like the Mallards, they just move purposefully away from me so I don't get a good view of their heads.  This Gadwall, however, didn't seem to mind me at all.

In fact, it was comfortable enough to give me the full stretch-and-flap routine.  The low sun provided some great detail of the wing feathers.

I took somewhere in the neighborhood of 1,200 photos over six days in Colorado.  This was the fifth-from-last image.  The moral, as always -- JUST KEEP SHOOTING!  You never know which snap of the shutter will be the one that makes all the near-misses worthwhile.