What's That Small Duck?

Sometimes it's the little things, and that's exactly what is was in this journey.

I needed to grab my laptop from work, and since there was just enough light left to see if there were any birds about the water, I made sure my camera was by my side.  It turns out there were some small birds floating right at the entrance to Pearson Creek off the Patuxent River.  I drove into the small lot to get close to their position, and was rather suddenly stopped in my tracks by a big tree.

So I hopped out, walked a short distance and got a few photos of these little guys you  see below.  I was reasonably close but shielded from a clean shot as there was a lot of brush along the bank.

 After a quick search on the net, I found out these are Bufflehead Ducks.  They are described as the smallest diving duck in North America.

It didn't take long for them to scatter, flying low along the water.













I drove out, (backed out a long way before being able to turn around), but not before a quick shot of another old busted up tree.  I think its the texture and contrast in color that draws my eye to them.

I drove further down the coast and around the corner.  This is the Chesapeake Bay side of  the base.  I found a few more Buffleheads and have cropped the photo to get a better look at them.

Bufflehead Ducks [Males sportting the white and black, while the female is a bit more plain, just a white spot near the ear

A last shot of the depart sun and with it the diminishing light:

From there it was time to head back to my office and get what I had come for...yeah, the laptop.  I had almost forgot.  And I think God was smiling down on me today, since I espied the silhouette of my Bald Eagle high in  a tree top on my drive to the office.

Hope you had a small adventure today as well.

Peace,
Brian