Sherry Icardi
January 2025 - Mottled Duck Bathing
About the Image(s)
Spotted this Mottled Duck in a clear area bathing with great light...so I shot off a spray of shots and found one prefect for what I was looking for! Wings extended no water flying and standing up. The rest pretty much went directly to trash bin, but this one was what I wanted. I enjoy watching them and sharing images of behaviors, and this is one I really like, showing off those beautiful feathers and spot on in focus!
Sot with my Sony a1 and 300mm f2.8 with 2X teleconverter going me 600mm.
F/5.6 (due to converter)
ISO 1200
1/2000 sec
Post processing: denoise in LR and Lightening up any shadows (particually on the bird). Mostly too get the shutter speed high enough to freeze the action I knew was coming.
6 comments posted
I'm so glad you named the duck. I've never heard of a Mottled duck. Very like a Mallard, but not. Interesting. You did a great job of capturing the color in the wings (which is about the only color on the females). Great focus and exposure. Posted: 01/05/2025 21:26:16
Leslie, this is in fact a male. The only way one can tell sex on the Mottled Duck is the male beak is a brighter Orange/Yellow and he has a black mark on the beak that is not present in the female. These ducks are permanent residents in South Florida. We also have Teal ducks which look very similar to the Mottled but have more vibrant coloring on lower feathers and a dark beak (only way on first glance I can tell them apart). I search more for the Wood Duck (one of my favorites), the most colorful of the ducks that either winter here and/or breed here. Posted: 01/07/2025 19:05:39
Goodness, he is rather a plain male duck. Having never seen one, I'm glad for your explanation.
We do have wood ducks here in winter, but I haven't sought them out. There are a lot more in summer. Posted: 01/07/2025 20:48:18
We do have wood ducks here in winter, but I haven't sought them out. There are a lot more in summer. Posted: 01/07/2025 20:48:18
Great timing of the catch. I should pay more attention to ducks. At first glance I thought it was a Teal duck. They splash in the pond behind my house and I just don't pay them much mind. Thanks for the explanation. Posted: 01/10/2025 19:49:00
Nice action shot. Good bokeh. I initially thought it was a Blue Teal as well so thanks for clarifying. Posted: 01/12/2025 23:22:50
Sherry, I like the action shot of this duck. The blue color shows off in the beautiful light.
I was also not aware of a mottled duck. I thought it was female Mallard. I guess the Mottled Duck do not have the bold white borders to speculum as the Mallard females. Posted: 01/13/2025 21:50:10
I was also not aware of a mottled duck. I thought it was female Mallard. I guess the Mottled Duck do not have the bold white borders to speculum as the Mallard females. Posted: 01/13/2025 21:50:10