03 January 2013

Whio (blue duck) chicks, Pohangina River


This is what we were hoping for. These four whio ducklings were swimming with their parents in a pool between Leon Kinvig hut and the Top Gorge. An unexpected but wonderful sight — one that more than compensated for rain and greasy riverbeds.

Happy New Year.


[18 December 2012, Panasonic Lumix GH1, 100–300 mm at 300 mm, ISO 400, 1/320 at f5.6]


All content © 2012 Pete McGregor
at

10 comments:

  1. Brenda Schmidt3 January 2013 at 16:57

    Beautiful. Happy New Year!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Elephant's Child3 January 2013 at 18:51

    Fluffy enchantment. Thank you.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Avus3 January 2013 at 22:44

    Beautifully focussed, Pete. Did you use a tripod?

    And a very happy 2013 to you too!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Barbara Butler McCoy4 January 2013 at 01:14

    Lovely, lovely ducklings - the silvery, crystalline look of their necks is quite exotic. Great work, as always, Pete. Happy New Year to you as well!!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Anonymous4 January 2013 at 05:21

    Ah, you have ducklings in summertime, and we have icy winters in the new year! This tilted whirling planet is full of tricks.

    ReplyDelete
  6. twoscamps4 January 2013 at 08:05

    Oh how lucky you were to see them! Great way to start the happy new year, Pete! Wishing you the best for 2013. -Maureen

    ReplyDelete
  7. Zhoen4 January 2013 at 13:45

    Very serious looking duck, doing serious business.

    ReplyDelete
  8. pohanginapete4 January 2013 at 14:25

    Brenda, Happy New Year to you also :^)

    Elephant's Child, thank you — and good luck with the heat wave!

    Thanks Avus. No, no tripod. The lens does have image stabilisation, but the shutter speed still had to be fairly fast or the ducklings would have been motion blurred.

    Barbara, I find birds swimming on water very difficult to photograph because of the problems of composition, so I'm glad you've enjoyed this. Happy New Year :^)

    Robin, some of that cooler weather wouldn't have gone amiss here around Christmas — we had the remains of a tropical cyclone sending hot, humid air over much of the country.

    Maureen, yes, very lucky! All the best to you and Eric, too :^)

    Zhoen, they do look serious, don't they?

    ReplyDelete
  9. Ruahines4 January 2013 at 16:35

    Kia Ora Pete, Was lucky enough to have a pair land in a pool across from my camp on the Makaroro a few days ago, then return and serenade me when I was zipped up in my tent. Wonderful. So cool to see you finding the little ones. Does my soul good. Mauri Ora!

    ReplyDelete
  10. pohanginapete4 January 2013 at 23:30

    Kia ora Robb. I know how much whio mean to you, so I'm delighted you met up with them in the Makaroro. I'm heading back into the Pohangina for a few days, so hope to have a similar experience!

    ReplyDelete

Constructive criticism is welcomed (I particularly appreciate thoughts on what you like and don't like), but please keep it courteous.