Black-bellied "Whistling" Duck

[Isaac Grant]

This is one of 10 Black-bellied Whistling Ducks that are rare visitors to the northeast. I watched these birds for about an hour and then this bird walked out to the middle of the water and started to whistle. Soon after the whole flock took off and flew around for about a minute and then returned to the same spot. It was nice to be able to capture a whistling duck actually whistling.

Canon 1dx mark ii and Canon 600 f4 ii + 1.4x iii. ISO 1000, SS 1/1600, F7.1. Cropped to vertical.

[Stu Bowie]

Hi Isaac, you nailed the pose here, and love the extended neck from the whistling behaviour. Tack sharp, and I like the colours on him. I do like how he pops from the smooth OOF BG.

At our local pond in Pretoria, we had a few of these guys around. They were obviously 'escapee's', as they are definitely not from SA. Over time, they unfortunately disappeared.

[annmpacheco]

Quite nice Isaac, unique pose you nailed! I too like the wet outstretched neck that leads to that whistle! Rich chestnut browns really pop against the greens. Perfect HA, well done.

[John Mack]

Nice pose on the duck. The way the foreground and background blend together is lovely. The green is very nice.

[Krishna Prasad kotti]

Nice Pose. I saw them a lot quite frequently in Texas - Brazos Bend State Park.

Rarely I had chance to get this close. I would have removed the background distraction.

Thanks for sharing.

[David Cowling]

Great pose with the outstreched neck and slightly open beak. I like the way the water and background blend into each other. Nice to see because we dont have them here in the UK.

[Arthur Morris]

Pretty much perfect but for the o-o-f yellow reed coming out of the bird's back ... Where?

with love, artie

[Isaac Grant]

These birds were in some large farm puddle on the side of the road in NJ. Can’t remember exactly where but I know it was about a 25 minute drive from the Goethal’s. I did consider cloning the grass above bird but for some reason I kind of like it.

[gail bisson]

A like this a lot!
Like your crop and the beautiful light.
I am with Artie and would get rid of the OOF reed coming out of the back but if you like it, then that is all that matters!!
Gail