Bufflehead Drake

Buffleheads are such handsome birds.  They've always been very hard for me to get close to though.  In April 2010, I decided to head to the blind at Dewey Gevik Nature Area at dawn, in the hopes of getting photos of the waterfowl migrating through the area.  Wasn't long after I arrived and the sun started to rise that the Buffleheads really started putting on a show, with a handful of males chasing the poor females around, seemingly wearing them ragged.  I thought it was probably just a matter of time before one of the chases ended up with a bird or two near the blind, and sure enough, after a little while, two males chased a female and landed right in front of the blind.  I wasn't able to get many shots before the chase resumed, but got what I'm sure will forever be my best Bufflehead photo.  These guys are SO hard to photograph, as it's hard to expose the whites and the blacks both correctly.  I was thrilled to not only get a photo with detail in the blacks and whites, but also showing the beautiful irridescence the males have if the light catches them right.