Green-winged Teal.

[Daniel Cadieux]

Pretty much got down and very dirty for this one! The GWTs are usually very wary up here, so when I saw a a small group of three females swim into an inlet that is hidden behind a small hill I knew I could sneak up from down low and slowly around the bend of the hill. My plan worked to perfection as the teals eventually swam back out...right by me. I later tried the same strategy on a beautiful male of the same species...but this guy (and a bunch of Mallards) took off as soon as he saw me:(.

Canon 40D + 100-400L @400mm, aperture priority, eval metering, 1/250s., f/6.3, ISO 640, +1 EC, handheld with elbows sinking 2 inches deep in mud (time to bring the coat to the cleaners!!)

http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w98/dancad/tn_Green-wingedTeal_2537-01.jpg

[bill kominsky]

it looks like it was well worth it my friend, great eye contact BG and detail, very well done, the movement of the water in front of the breast does it, congrats, and thank you for sharing. Send the coat to the cleaners.

Bill

[Stephen Stephen]

Dan I love the low angle on this one. Great details too. Too bad about the male.

It was nice spending a morning out with you again.

[Tony Whitehead]

Good result for your effort, Dan. Might blur out the BG a bit more as the bokeh isn't the greatest and there is some evidence of patching but the tones and colours work well. Pano crop may remove some of the OOF foreground and lower the bird in the frame. Bird may be able to stand a bit more sharpening but I am on a monitor at work so can't assess this too well. Love that bright green speculum peeking through.

[Axel Hildebrandt]

I like the soft light, details and angle and might crop a bit off the bottom.