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| Almost a dozen Gadwalls trying to get away from my camera. MAE©2011 |
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| Gadwalls at the London Wetland Centre. MAE©2011 |
Finding the Gadwall made a nice change from the ordinary. I do hope they are not so shy next time I see them.
Het gaat om het moment. Die ene, magische seconde waar je beweging stil kan laten staan. En stilstand kan laten bewegen. Dit is mijn verhaal van beeld, kleur en de natuur. Van zoeken en vaak niet vinden. Van tweederde of meer van de kiekjes meteen weggooien. Van zoeken naar compositie en contrast. Dit is het verhaal van mijn jacht met de camera. Alle foto's op deze blog zijn © MAE
Sunday 6 November 2011
Gadwall (The unknown duck)
On a quiet November morning I went to the Ruislip Lido, to see if there were any interesting pictures to make. Normally you will find a lot of Mute Swans, Canada Geese and (common) Mallard Ducks on the Lido. And of course many Herring Gulls flying over them making a lot of noise. Even the Great Crested Grebe can be seen every now and then, although I do not know if there is enough fish in the pond.
So I was pleasantly surprised to see a handful of Gadwalls in one of the inlets amongst some geese. I had not seen them at the Lido before and I only recently came to know them from a visit to the London Wetland Centre. Unfortunately, the Gadwalls notice me before I noticed them and the moment I came around, they swam quickly towards the open lake. I tested this many times, but despite my perceived subtle approach, they were not to be fooled. It took some attempts to get a better picture but it was worth the effort.
Gadwalls are less known than their cousin the Mallard and they can be seen throughout the year. For a duck their colours may be simple, but very beautiful nevertheless. They are called Krakeend in Dutch and the Latin name is Anas Strepera. The male has a black bill and greyish-black patterned feathers with a distinctive white feather at his flank. The female has a very distinctive yellow-orange bill and has a similar feather pattern as the female Mallard. Both sexes have a horizontal black "mascara" stripe around their eyes.
Finding the Gadwall made a nice change from the ordinary. I do hope they are not so shy next time I see them.
Finding the Gadwall made a nice change from the ordinary. I do hope they are not so shy next time I see them.
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