Photographing Ducks in the Wild the right way

Well, I guess my go-to place for bird photography is not exactly in the wild, rather it is a hidden spot, more or less on the outskirts of Gurugram (Gurgaon) close to the Gurgaon-Jajjhar highway and next to the Water-treatment plant. Unfortunately, wild ducks are very nervous and they don't allow you to get close to them. Using a zoom lens having a minimum focal length of 500 to 600 mm might help, but then the trade-off includes its unwieldy character, requiring oftentimes a tripod. I don't personally like to carry a tripod and I use a Canon 70-300 mm IS USM lens which is compact and can be pointed swiftly at any swift moving bird. The Canon 70-300 mm lens is has a fast focus as it easily locks to the image without too much fuss! Having a fast enough shutter speed between 1250 of a second to 2000 of a second can help although lighting is a highly dynamic factor which can require frequent changes in the f-stop numbers and the shutter speed. I, however, prefer to set the ISO setting on automatic within the range of 100 to 800.

The photograph taken above is a photograph of a distant pair of Northern Pintails flying in tandem. The angle of the photograph has created a rather unique crossing of wings forming a rather interesting overlapping of wings thus creating an interesting geometric shape. My interest in bird photography forces me to look for interesting patterns and shapes made by Ducks flying in unison. The photographs I have posted below are those of Spot-billed Ducks that are native to the country but they migrate to warmer regions during the winter season for breeding and bringing up their fledgelings.

The photographs I am sharing are, unfortunately, compressed so that they don't take up too much space on the blog. However, if you really want to take a good look at them I would suggest that you click on them and zoom in so that they appear a bit larger than they are in the blog.

The patterns made by Ducks flying in unison can often follow a pecking order with the leader forming the point of the formation. Often it can be noticed that the leader forms the arrow-head of the formation. It is such exciting patterns that one would look for while photographing wild ducks and the Basai Wetland offers many such opportunities.

While paddling around on the water ducks often do stuff in pairs or sometimes even in troikas. However, one might also spot solitary ducks paddling around like the one whose photograph I have posted below. 

A mass exodus of ducks can be an amazing sight when you spot it. The sound of hundreds of wings beating together can be an experience of its kind!