Woodie Courtship

Gallery: AvianPosted February 28, 201469 views8 comments

This is more of a behavioral shot. I noticed the hen would circle the male very low in the water. It was as if she were signaling the drake that she was ready. Right after this shot, the drake climbed on top of the hen. At times, the hen was completely under the water. The rest of the time, just a small portion of her head was above the water. I had never witnessed this before. Perhaps some of you can comment on this. Processed with Photoshop CS3, NeatImage and LightZone.

Canon 7D
Canon 200-400 f4 L IS
f7.1
1/320s
ISO 640
Focal Length 200mm

Comments and Critiques Welcome.

Comments

8 comments

Comment posted by Peter Cross on February 28, 2014 at 11:02 PM

A nice behavioral shot indeed. Hope you got the whole sequence. My understanding is that it is quite common for the female to be partly to mostly submerged. Doesn't sound like fun to us humans but, hey, these are ducks and they can take a bit of water.

Registered on April 3, 2010, 271 Posts, 1342 Comments

Comment posted by Dennis Plank on February 28, 2014 at 11:17 PM

Interesting, Jerry. I suspect you're right about it being a readiness signal from the female. Nice job getting both in reasonable focus.

Registered on January 28, 2008, 1767 Posts, 23192 Comments

Comment posted by Rick Turner on March 1, 2014 at 9:20 AM

Good observation Jerry and nice capture.

Registered on February 18, 2012, 534 Posts, 2755 Comments

Comment posted by Robert Bunch on March 1, 2014 at 9:36 AM

Nice capture of the action/behavior. I like the nice soft light, the colors on the drake and the brownish swirling water looks good.

Registered on May 18, 2004, 124 Posts, 2503 Comments

Comment posted by Rick Cloran on March 1, 2014 at 10:46 AM

Another top notch Woodie shot. The behavior captured here is super and adds a lot. This is pre-mating posture and you saw the rest of the mating. Well done.

Registered on April 6, 2004, 119 Posts, 1989 Comments

Comment posted by David Haynes on March 1, 2014 at 10:57 AM

Jerry,
Another terrific woodie shot. Good look at both the drake and the hen and both are sharp. This is exactly what I've seen every duck do just before mating. The action you describe is totally normal with the hen being either under water are partially under water. Usually after they are done the male will grab some of the feathers on the hens neck and tug a little bit. Hey, whatever turns them on, right. Great woodie series Jerry!! :)

Registered on February 20, 2010, 110 Posts, 1511 Comments

Comment posted by Jerry Austin on March 2, 2014 at 12:31 PM

Here is another shot in this sequence showing the female almost completely submerged.

Registered on January 6, 2012, 651 Posts, 3448 Comments

Comment posted by Kurt Bowman on March 2, 2014 at 12:37 PM

Very cool behavior in this image Jerry. Good job getting both ducks sharp and nicely placed in the frame. I actually like the second post even better.

Registered on June 19, 2008, 1005 Posts, 8028 Comments