bird photography : blue-winged teal

John heard several ducks feeding in the shallow waters just off the path at Huntley Meadows, and when he and Beth crept down for a closer look, they found this fine Blue-winged Teal drake and his mate. A few days before, several birders had debated a distant spotting as being either teal or Ring-necked Ducks (the latter being the eventual correct identification)--but this time, they did see the elusive Blue-winged Teal.

Equipment: Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL XT Canon EF 300mm f4L IS with 1.4x Teleconverter Settings: f8; 1/640 sec.; focal length at 420 mm; ISO 200 Date: April 7, 2006 9:38 am Location: Huntley Meadows Park / Fairfax County, VA Photography Notes: Hopefully, John will have a chance to capture a better image of this beautiful duck--without blowing the highlights of the duck's white facial stripe.