Over the last few months, I have been stalking a duck couple (Sid and Nancy) that I see swimming in the nearby river and adjacent swamp areas during my hikes. I got a few photos from distance along the way, but nothing great.
Fast forward to a recent spring morning; as I was digesting the morning’s breakfast tacos and dialing in my Black Rapid camera strap for the day’s hike, I looked up and saw a mallard (Sid) just chilling in the backyard of the Cul De Sac Shack. Then I looked over and saw Nancy near a neighbor’s tree. I took a few crap shots through the backdoor window, then just stood and watched the ducks for a minute.
Soon, I got greedy and tried to open the door. Of course, the ducks quickly flew away as soon as my hand hit the handle. To which I angrily threw open the door and yelled, “I AIN’T GONNA BE A PUNK NO MORE!! I’M GONNA BE A RUDE BOY!!!!!”
Sid looking to score some backyard smack.
I, of course, doubt this was THEE Sid and Nancy, but the irony of looking out my backdoors to see ducks just hanging out in the yard after weeks of photographic frustration is gold. Of all the types of wildlife photography, I have to say I admire those that shoot waterfowl the most. Ducks and the like are so damn skittish, and I am so damn impatient.
“Patience Jason, patience.” – Grandma Helen
A few days later I looked out the front door and saw the same duck couple wandering around the cul-de-sac. Armed with only a cup of coffee and a grumbling intestinal track, I stood and watched as they each walked and quacked around in circles as if they were looking for someone’s house, “I thought you said they lived on this street. Just ask for directions!”
Seeing wildlife in my neighborhood is nothing new; there are always plenty of songbirds, low-flying geese overhead, deer looking for an easy wintertime snack, and the occasional roaming band of turkeys, but this is the first time I’ve seen ducks just wandering around and hanging out. ‘
It seems odd to see ducks in the neighborhood rather than hurriedly flying away from a swamp while laughing (they call it quacking) and flipping me off as I curse the foul fowl through my camera’s viewfinder.
Given some of the neighbors I’ve had in my lifetime (who can forget the infamous “garbage pile neighbors” who just opened up their kitchen window to throw garbage out), I will take waking up to see ducks waddling around the yard any day. I just wish they weren’t so camera-shy!
Later.