I spent less time this year photographing shorebirds than in the past and I might have neglected these had there been anything more interesting around to shoot. These birds seem to be a little more approachable than some other species so I was happy to find them on a day that didn't have much else to offer. October 16, Black Rock Beach.
There were two males in the flock that were not in full breeding plumage. One was clearly a juvenile. This bird I would assume to be a juvenile as well although it looked considerably more like an adult than the other. Possibly from an earlier brood. October 11, East Jordan.
I took the shots of the Wood Ducks during the last hour of daylight on two nights in October, two days apart. The drake and hen on October 11 and the two drakes on October 13. The landscape shot was taken the day in between and all were taken at the same location. It seems quite obvious from the top three photos why they refer to this time of the day as the golden hour.
