Away from home from 6:30 AM until 7:00 PM yesterday, I managed to sneak in 65 minutes of duck photography in the early morning gloom during a quick loop through Lyme, NH and Norwich, VT. Most of the places I stopped had wood ducks or merganser or both. I also saw, but did not stop to photograph, a common loon on Post Pond. And I pretty much ignore Canada Geese.
In Grant Brook in Lyme, I found a cooperative pair of Hooded Merganser.
Some of the spots on Grant Brook had great early spring reflections. The light was low, but at least the wind was fairly still.
Here are some of the other photos I took of the Hooded Merganser pair.
There were also Common Merganser at Grant Brook. Here is a pair I was able to photograph.
There were Wood Ducks in the mouth of Grant Brook, but they were farther away and the reflections had a lot of glare but with interesting patterns and textures.
In a small, murky farm pond along North Thetford Road in Lyme, I found a pair of Wood Ducks that quickly moved upland behind cover.
In Norwich along Route 5 just north of Route 132, I was looking east at the reflection of a bland sky when I photographed some Common Merganser.
I managed to get some shots when they took issue with my presence and flew. I love the way they run on water, like loon, to get airborne.
In a flooded field at Campbell Flats, I found a pair of Wood Ducks and followed them as the swam and walked from a flooded area to a muddy area.
Here are a few more photos of the Wood Ducks.
It was a nice way to start a day that was otherwise quite unexciting.