Duck Dynasty at Kent Narrows

Crossing the Rt. 18 Watermen’s Bridge over the Kent Narrows Channel to run an errand late afternoon a few days ago, I spotted a large quantity of ducks in the waters around the Kent Island Yacht Club piers and bulkhead where the ice buildup had melted. Quickly finishing my errand, rechecked on return to see if they were still there (YEP!), home to get the camera, and then back to the ducks.

I spent about 90 minutes taking 554 photos in mostly cloudy conditions. It really was a Duck Dynasty of beauties!

Canvasbacks, American Coots, Ruddy Ducks, Redheads, Lesser Scaup

Canvasbacks, Redheads, Lesser Scaup

If they saw me, they would move away from land, so I had to compromise shooting from behind boats and my car.

Shooting from behind a boat.

Canvasbacks, Redheads, Lesser Scaup, American Coot, Bufflehead

Male & Female Lesser Scaups & Canvasbacks

Redheads, American Coot, Canvasback

Canvasbacks, Ruddy Ducks

When I saw the dozen or so Redheads, my heart skipped a beat, lol. A lifer for me! 🙂 I’d been trying to photograph a Redhead duck for quite a while now.

Male Redheads

I even saw a male Redhead coming in for a landing and tried my best to stay locked on him.

Male Redhead

For some reason, I didn’t get very lucky on close-ups of the Lesser Scaup, but did capture this one.

Male Lesser Scaup

Close-up photo ops were galore for the Ruddy Ducks and Canvasbacks, the only two species who started to trust my presence and came a little closer to the bulkhead, and always with an eye on me. I’ll issue the next two posts of those two so I don’t overload the ducks on you. 🙂

(Excuse me, friends, for being behind on my blog-reading, I’ll be by soon!)

Tags: bird, birding, Birds, birdwatching, Canvasback, Chesapeake, Chesapeake Bay, coot, Eastern Shore, Grasonville, Kent Narrows, photographs, photos, redhead, ruddy duck, scaup, waterfowl

23 thoughts on “Duck Dynasty at Kent Narrows”

Charlie@Seattle Trekker on 03/01/2015 at 10:21 PM said:

Ducks are such amazing creatures…You really got some amazing photos.

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- bayphotosbydonna on 03/11/2015 at 6:30 AM said:
  
  Thanks Charlie! It is amazing to see all their colors, contrasts and sizes. (Sorry for late reply, not sure how I missed your comment but I do appreciate them, thanks!)
  
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Stephen Talabac on 03/01/2015 at 10:33 PM said:

Wow… what a great variety of ducks and clustered close together! Looks like it was a fun photo shoot!

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- bayphotosbydonna on 03/02/2015 at 7:08 AM said:
  
  It was a really fun shoot, Steve, thanks!
  
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quietsolopursuits on 03/01/2015 at 10:45 PM said:

Great photos! It seems as if when there’s not much open water because of the ice, that the ducks get more skittish. I had the same trouble as you yesterday, but instead of canvasbacks and lesser scaup, I found redheads and greater scaup.

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- bayphotosbydonna on 03/02/2015 at 7:27 AM said:
  
  Thanks Jerry! The waters had opened up more around the bridge and with nobody around the marina (except me!), it gave them a safe opportunity to feed. And boy, did they ever, I have so many photos of ‘nothing’ because they were diving so fast. I was able to take some photos from inside my car that I had maneuvered best I could along the bulkhead because the cold started to get the best of me. lol
  
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avian101 on 03/01/2015 at 10:48 PM said:

Wow! You hit the mother load! I’m happy for you Donna! Great shots! 🙂

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- bayphotosbydonna on 03/02/2015 at 7:30 AM said:
  
  That’s exactly what I thought when I saw them and booked home for my camera! lol I had a really great time, thanks HJ! 🙂
  
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Max Reynolds on 03/01/2015 at 11:05 PM said:

You are right Donna. That’s a lot of ducks. 😉 I especially like the ones of duck landing. Thank you for sharing them. -Max-

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- bayphotosbydonna on 03/02/2015 at 7:34 AM said:
  
  Thanks Max! There were probably 5-6 times the amount of ducks I showed in one photo, with a few continuously dropping in every so often. I love watching them come sliding in on top of the water, some can create a really big ‘wake’ for such a little duck! I got lucky on the Redhead. 🙂
  
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niasunset on 03/02/2015 at 1:38 AM said:

So beautiful photographs dear Donna, especially these last ones, amazing. Thank you, love, nia

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- bayphotosbydonna on 03/02/2015 at 7:35 AM said:
  
  Thanks so much, Nia!
  
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Beth on 03/02/2015 at 7:49 AM said:

Say, when you take photos, you take them in LARGE numbers! How much fun you must have had!! Thanks for sharing these wonderful photos. And for sharing the fun! Don’t think I have ever taken that many photos at one time but boy, do I understand it happening. hugs

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- bayphotosbydonna on 03/02/2015 at 6:04 PM said:
  
  LOL I was having too much fun, which I then tend to forget how long it’s going to take me to run through that many later. 🙂 hugs back!
  
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tootlepedal on 03/02/2015 at 6:46 PM said:

You certainly got the landing sequence spot on.

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- bayphotosbydonna on 03/02/2015 at 9:09 PM said:
  
  With all those ducks, that was the only one I got complete. But it was enough. 🙂
  
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naturesnippets on 03/02/2015 at 7:53 PM said:

Great pics. Do you find yourself holding your breath during all that excitement.

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- bayphotosbydonna on 03/02/2015 at 9:10 PM said:
  
  Sometimes….or sometimes I talk to them….not sure which is worse?! lol Thanks Kathy
  
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  - naturesnippets on 03/02/2015 at 10:41 PM said:
    
    I just realized I do talk/think to nature more than I realize — trees, animals, even an occasional rocks, etc.
    
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LindaSCgal on 03/09/2015 at 7:22 AM said:

You are just totally amazing! I enjoy your photos and everything you say about them! What a great education you give to all of us!! We have some of those ducks in South Carolina and now I know their names!

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- bayphotosbydonna on 03/09/2015 at 11:09 AM said:
  
  Thanks Linda, you are so kind! Are you ready for the return of your Osprey, Angelo & Angie?!! 🙂
  
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Tom Kimbis (@tomkimbis) on 01/25/2016 at 3:19 PM said:

Great shots!! Fun to check out – feels like I was there!
Looks like you have a female bufflehead in one of your photos, and I don’t see any ruddy’s but I may not have had my coffee yet… 🙂

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- bayphotosbydonna on 01/25/2016 at 7:59 PM said:
  
  Thanks Tom! And you are right, I see the photo with the female Bufflehead and no Ruddy, thanks for catching my mistake! 🙂
  
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