On the way home from photographing the Sandhill Cranes on Nebraska’s Platte River, I made a short stop at the Squaw Creek NWR, located in NW Missouri. Bird numbers had been quite high in the days leading up to my visit (650,000 snow geese, 500 trumpeter swans, etc.), but the temperature had warmed so much that most of the birds had already left the refuge when I arrived. But I did find a few interesting birds, like this small group of Ring-necked Ducks (Aythya collaris) that was flying over the refuge waters:
I always enjoy seeing these ducks migrate through, especially seeing the beautiful eyes of the drakes (males) against their dark heads.
Photographic Equipment Used:
- Canon 5D Mark 3 body
- Canon EF 100-400mm, f/4.5-5.6 IS lens, with Canon 1.4x TC, shot at 560mm
- Handheld, with IS “On”
- ISO 500 (all photos)
- Aperture f/8 (all photos)
- Shutter 1/800 sec. (all photos)