I Believe I can Fly

I'm tired of calling it, "They Didn't Make the Cut." But, that is still the idea behind these images. Either they didn't make it into a narrative on a particular topic or other more recent shots garnered the focus of attention. I love the primary feathers on this photo. It is amazing, when you consider something so ephemeral could keep them airborne.

This is a good example of how a goose's entire body coordinates a landing. The wings are flaps down, the tail rudder is also spread and braking, the head and neck are extended for balance and the feet have just gone from braking to landing mode.

I cannot look at a Northern Shoveler without thinking God has a sense of humor. They are so cartoon-like with their shovel bills. Although it was February and there was still a lot of ice on other parts of the pond, the turtles were out collecting solar rays and the spadderdock at the ducks feet is already beginning to grow. The Shoveler believes he can fly; I just didn't catch him doing it.

There are birds that exhibit a lot of grace in flight and there are others that just look downright awkward. Herons show very little grace except on landing or if they happen to brake in flight and try to hover. They can't, but they look a lot more graceful at that time then just flying along. Ducks, on the other hand, almost always appear graceful in flight. The only way I don't like to catch a duck is a head on shot when they are almost landing. Same with geese and for the same reason. They appear to have enormously obese bodies with little tiny heads and no beak. This image looks like an aerial ballet.

Mallard ducks are not monogamous, but the female generally demonstrate more fidelity than the males in my observation. Once they have paired off in late fall, the female becomes like the shadow of the male, following him everywhere he goes. The second female in this photo was also flying with her mate, but only part of him made it into the original image before being cropped out.