Most people agree that the wood duck is our most beautiful duck in the U.S. So exotic looking. They are year-round residents in the Puget Sound region, but I had never seen one before. So when I saw this guy swimming towards the view platform at Twin Ponds Park in April 2015 I almost lost my composure I was so thrilled.
Song sparrows are one of the most commonly seen birds in the Seattle area. I’ve seen or heard them in the majority of parks I’ve been to since starting this blog. They are year-round residents in all of Washington State.
Mallards are probably the easiest birds to photograph in North America. They are seen in or near every Puget Sound region body of water, feed near shore, and aren’t shy of humans. In most of the U.S. they are year-round residents, so they don’t even have migration to make them special.
As I lamented in a post almost a year ago, bird photography ain’t as easy as one might initially think. I’ve been trying off and on for a year and a half now with extremely meager results. Mostly due to my lack of patience and my lens not quite having the reach I wish it did. (Though the 16x optical zoom on my bridge camera is still a vast improvement over my little point and shoot.)
I have particular trouble with little flitty birds. So I was overjoyed when I managed to capture this uncooperative kinglet. The photo isn’t as sharp as I’d like, but I was lucky to get it at all. Prior to this one I had two photos of empty branches and two of blurred tail feathers. I finally caught it here in the moment before it flew away.
Park Preview 