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Northern Pintail Photos

Photography by Terry Sohl

My Favorite:  Waterfowl in general are difficult to approach and photograph in South Dakota. Given all the hunting pressure here, that's understandable. Nearly all of my best waterfowl photos were taken from some form of blind, and that's no exception for the Northern Pintail. There's a wonderful permanent blind at Dewey Gevik Nature Area, a small building set out into the wetland a little ways. When you first walk out on the short little causeway to the blind, of course all the birds scatter. But given the blind is a permanent feature, the birds are used to it, and after a while, the birds start trickling back, forgetting you are inside. As one of the most skittish duck species, it was that blind that made a photo like this possible, of a drake Northern Pintail taking flight.  From April 4th, 2015.

Northern Pintail - Anas acuta

Northern Pintail 1 - Anas acuta

Northern Pintail 2 - Anas acuta

Northern Pintail 3 - Anas acuta

Northern Pintail 4 - Anas acuta

Northern Pintail 1 

Northern Pintail 2 

Northern Pintail 3 

Northern Pintail 4 

April 14th, 2010 

April 14th, 2010 

April 14th, 2010 

March 18th, 2011 

Kingsbury County, South Dakota 

Kingsbury County, South Dakota 

Kingsbury County, South Dakota 

LaCreek National Wildlife Refuge, South Dakota 

Profile of drake Pintail in typical wetland habitat 

Vertical of male Northern Pintail in marshy habitat 

Profile of drake Pintail in typical wetland habitat  

Male bird in flight 

Northern Pintail 5 - Anas acuta

Northern Pintail 6 - Anas acuta

Northern Pintail 7 - Anas acuta

Northern Pintail 8 - Anas acuta

Northern Pintail 5 

Northern Pintail 6 

Northern Pintail 7 

Northern Pintail 8 

April 4th, 2015 

April 4th, 2015 

April 4th, 2015 

April 4th, 2015 

Dewey Gevik Nature Area, South Dakota 

Dewey Gevik Nature Area, South Dakota 

Dewey Gevik Nature Area, South Dakota 

Dewey Gevik Nature Area, South Dakota 

Drake Northern Pintail taking flight, with water droplets falling 

Male Northern Pintail taking flight 

Male pintail in flight, with clear blue sky background 

Profile of drake swimming on open water 

Northern Pintail 9 - Anas acuta

Northern Pintail 10 - Anas acuta

Northern Pintail 11 - Anas acuta

Northern Pintail 12 - Anas acuta

Northern Pintail 9 

Northern Pintail 10 

Northern Pintail 11

Northern Pintail 12

April 4th, 2015 

April 4th, 2015 

April 4th, 2015 

April 23rd, 2020 

Dewey Gevik Nature Area, South Dakota 

Dewey Gevik Nature Area, South Dakota 

Dewey Gevik Nature Area, South Dakota

Dewey Gevik Nature Area, South Dakota 

Male Pintail making ripples on a pond's surface 

Drake bird in typical wetland habitat, with cattails 

Profile and eye contact from male pintail

Female and male pintail in a flooded field 

Northern Pintail 13 - Anas acuta

Northern Pintail 14 - Anas acuta 

 

 

Northern Pintail 13 

Northern Pintail 14 

 

 

April 23rd, 2020 

July 5th, 2020 

 

 

Kingsbury County, South Dakota 

Hyde County, South Dakota 

 

 

Female and male pintail in a flooded field  

Female swimming in open water

 

 

Click here for the species description page for the Northern Pintail

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Please mail any comments/suggestions/additional links for this page to: Terry L. Sohl