Good Weather for Ducks

When I was a boy and it was a rainy day, my grandmother always said that it was good weather for ducks. And so on a cloudy afternoon with rain in the forecast I headed for a wetland that’s a favorite with migrating ducks and therefore one of my favorite spots in the early spring.

When I got there, I parked the car, walked about 300 yards to the edge of the wetland, donned my leafy camo jacket, hood and gloves and settled in to wait.

photograph taken on a different day

About 15 minutes later a light rain began and shortly afterwards the first bird arrived, a male green-winged teal –

He didn’t stay long, flushing and flying far into the wetland. The next arrivals were several American coots; coots aren’t ducks, they’re actually rails with a duck-like lifestyle.

The rain increased a bit so I put a rain cover on the camera and lens even though they’re both rated as weather sealed (one user of the same gear takes them in the shower to clean them).

As the rain fell a number of wood ducks arrived, some flew in while others swam from an area of flooded shrubs. Male wood ducks are often said to be among the most beautiful of ducks –

On the other side of the open water a lone tundra swan swam with several mallards and a couple of wood ducks –

Another male green-winged teal flew in to land near a coot –

A while later the rain increased and the sky darkened; the wood ducks began to leave, a few at a time –

 

And, since my clothes were wet through, I left too.