Ring-necked Duck

Posting later than usual today, as I was just too tired last night to find and edit three photos to upload. I really don't enjoy having to do it in the morning : )

"The male Ring-necked Duck is a sharply marked bird of gleaming black, gray, and white. Females are rich brown with a delicate face pattern. At distance, look for this species’ distinctive, peaked head to help you identify it. Even though this species dives for its food, you can find it in shallow wetlands such as beaver swamps, ponds, and bays. Of all the diving duck species, the Ring-necked Duck is most likely to drop into small ponds during migration." From AllAboutBirds.

www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Ring-necked_Duck/id

You would expect this duck to be called a Ring-billed Duck, as there is a thin, white ring around the base of the bill. Also, the blue-grey bill has black and white bands at the tip. The expected ring neck (from the duck's name) is barely visible. I don't often see these ducks and, if I do, they are always way off in the distance. I think I only had a couple of photos of them on Flickr, before this most recent one.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ring-necked_duck

This was taken yesterday, 22 October 2015, at a wetland in the SW of the city. Earlier, I had been to collect my car after getting my snow tires put on. I knew that everyone would be wanting to make an appointment for this reason if I left it much longer. From the tire place, I decided to call in at Bebo Grove, Fish Creek Park, on the way home. As sometimes happens, I saw nothing but a little Red Squirrel, but the light was so bad that my few photos all came out blurred.

Feeling a little disappointed, I called in at a wetland area in the SW, where I knew there would at least be a few Mallards to photograph. It was such a beautiful, sunny day, it seemed a shame to be indoors. Sure enough, the Mallards were there, plus a Coot or two, a pair of very distant Ring-necked Ducks, a pair of Canada Geese, and a Lesser Scaup. I really do need to practice my skills when it comes to photographing ducks that are swimming fast, as most of my shots came out very blurry!

Ha, I've just checked our weather forecast and I see that it is supposed to snow tomorrow! The morning temperature should be -1C, warming to 7C in the afternoon. I'm definitely not ready for this, even if my car is!