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M. R. DUCKS

In December 2003 we observed waterfowl beginning to gather on a larger impoundment that lies partly on the property at Hilton Pond Center and into which water from Hilton Pond flows. Size and mix of the flock varied from day to day through mid-January until eventually there were about three dozen Ring-necked Ducks, Hooded Mergansers, and Wood Ducks. On several occasions we attempted to get close enough to snap a photograph but--especially without a portable blind--that was well-nigh impossible. The ducks spooked and either flew or swam to the far end of the pond anytime we got anywhere near. After repeated failures, we gave up for lack of time but took hope when a few Ring-necked Ducks actually came to us instead and started hanging out on Hilton Pond. At first there were three males, then six, and by this week we have a regular flotilla of two females and nine drakes--plus a couple pairs of Woods Ducks that come and go as the spirit moves them. One of the female Ring-necked Ducks is being guarded very attentively by a prospective mate, perhaps a better sign of impending spring than a groundhog's shadow.

All text & photos © Hilton Pond Center

For the past year or so we've been using a Canon D60 digital camera for all our photographic work, and we're fortunate to also have a 100-400mm zoom lens with a 1.4x telextender. Because the sensor on this particular camera provides an image 1.6 times what a film camera would allow, the effective maximum focal length of the set-up is actually 400 x 1.4 x 1.6, or almost 900mm--a mind-boggling magnification that traditionally would have required a big, heavy, exceedingly expensive lens. Now that Ring-necked Ducks have been hanging out on Hilton Pond, we decided to mount the camera and lens on a tripod in a window of the Center's office--a spot about 50 yards from the pond's edge and from which we have a fairly unimpeded view of the water. Despite the long focal length of the telephoto and extender, the ducks still appear pretty far away when they paddle around the pond, but we've been able to get off a few shots as they swim to the closest point. That brings up a good news/bad news scenario, as follows:

BAD NEWS: Almost every day we've tried to shoot our ducks there has been rain or heavy cloud cover--not the best circumstances for long-distance photography. GOOD NEWS: The digital system allows us to adjust the camera to an ISO 1000--equivalent to extremely high-speed film. BAD NEWS: This rating provides lots of digital "noise"--similar to "graininess" in the film world. GOOD NEWS: With a software program called Photoshop it's possible to smooth out much of the noise. The four photos on this page are the result of all this digital magic; not our best work, but certainly adequate to illustrate what a Ring-necked Duck looks like.

MORE BAD NEWS: Our Ring-necked Ducks never stop swimming, requiring us to constantly re-focus the lens and pan the camera. They also preen frequently, dipping their heads into the water, flapping their wings, and practically doing Eskimo rolls in on-going efforts to keep their feathers in good shape. In the photo above, for example, four of the five drakes are attending to personal hygiene and exhibit postures not conducive to good species identification. FINAL BAD NEWS: Ring-necks are diving ducks that disappear beneath the water's surface in search of vegetation and small crustaceans--a feeding behavior that always seems to occur just as we get a particular bird in our viewfinder. (All this good news/bad news is relative, of course, to our photographic needs. Frankly, we're tickled just to have these ducks on Hilton Pond in the first place.)

The Ring-necked Duck, Aythya collaris, takes its name from an obscure collar around the base of the male's neck, but we've always believed it should have been called "Ring-BILLED Duck" because of the white bands near the tip and base of an otherwise-blue bill sported by the male. The drake has an orange eye and an iridescent purplish head that often looks black, a dark metallic-green breast, a dark back, and a vertical white "crescent moon" on each grayish-colored side. The relatively drab hen (squinting through the alders, below left) has neutral brown plumage and is best distinguished by the white ring near her bill tip; a thin, horizontal white line behind the eye is sometimes visible. In flight both male and female show a wide gray trailing edge on the dorsal wing surface.

We're hopeful that over the next few weeks that we'll get some sunny days and even be able to move our camera a little closer to Hilton Pond as the waterfowl get more accustomed to us. We haven't long, however, because Ring-necked Ducks only occur in the Carolinas during winter, and by month's end they'll start moving toward breeding grounds in New England, the prairie pothole states, and central Canada. Until then we need to work hard on getting more photos that capture the birds' finer details--rather than just dark silhouettes that would lead the casual observer simply to say "Yep, M. R. Ducks."

NOTE: Be sure to scroll down for an account of all birds banded or recaptured during the week, as well as some other interesting nature notes.