Friday, May 10, 2013

Wood Duck Flight

This is a hen wood duck flying from her nesting box.  I was positioned in a ground blind that was close enough to photograph three nesting boxes and capture any activity.  Wood ducks are fast fliers and it is difficult to get shots of them in flight.  They seem to hardly slow their speed at all when entering the box and the exit is equally quick.  Fortunately, the hens give some warning before exiting by showing their heads at the opening.  Sometimes they wait several minutes but when they decide to leave they are gone in a flash.  That was the case here and I kept the camera trained on the box as soon as I noticed her head protruding from the opening.  The shutter speed is not particularly fast and there is some attractive blurring at the wing tips.
400mm lens, 1/800 second at f/3.2, ISO 320.

No comments: