To my eyes, Goosanders are an attractive bird and in common with almost all of the duck species, they are very attractive and photogenic. However, truly wild ducks are very wary and difficult to get close to, probably because historically they have been hunted for thousands of years. Only those birds with a built in preservation instinct have survived to pass on their genes. But when I went to photograph them yesterday I had a plan to get close which had worked on a previous visit and that success had given me the confidence to try again. Previously I had photographed just females, the drakes were yet to arrive from their moulting grounds in Norway but now as well as well as five females, there was a couple of very smart males.
I sat on the ground under cover and in my "gillie suit" with my back up against a rock and my camera camouflaged to blend in to the surroundings. Then it was just a case of waiting for the birds to eventually drift in my direction. It took quite a while, but eventually three of them were getting closer and closer. Then one female decided to bathe and she was around 30 feet from me, meanwhile the other two, including a spanking male, drifted away again which was frustrating. My photos of the bathing female were exciting to say the least. She was energetic and persistent, splashing and rolling in the shallow water at the reservoir's edge.
I took lots of photos and finished up with dozens of "specials" . It's been a hard job to sort through them and decide which ones to publish on the Blog and on my galleries.
I just adore this photograph, it has a lot going for it, action..... a good subject and an interesting background.
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