Pictures for Pam, Day 161: Muscovy Duck Portrait

(+3 insets!) Please view large for more hideous details! :D

Steve and I are simply bouncing up and down in excitement!!!!
Our tails are flapping wildly!!
We cannot control our ear-to-ear grins and happy squeeing!

On Monday, we will be driving our RV about an hour away to Upper Klamath Lake where we will park at a reserved campground space!!! AHHHHHHHH!!!! *more uncontrolled bouncing* We plan to arrive at about noon on Monday, stay for 3 nights and leave on the morning of the 4th day. This campsite has water and electricity hookups and more, so it will be just like being at home. Except for one thing…WE WON'T BE AT HOME! :D

For our first trip we wanted to go somewhere close by that was familiar to us. It wasn't hard to choose because most places we thought of are still too cold to camp at…but not this spot!

Upper Klamath is the largest lake in Oregon and features an enormous variety of local and migrant birds, both waterfowl and others. One of the coolest features found here is the 9.5 mile canoe trail that takes you around and through the shallow marshy areas and give you access to views of many species of waterfowl.

Steve and I have paddled this trail one autumn many years ago and it was an amazing experience for both of us. If you'd like to see pictures of our adventure, I have an album that you'll enjoy: Upper Klamath Lake

We know that Upper Klamath Lake attracts countless birds during springtime, both as a breeding ground and also a stop-over for birds in migration, but we've never been able to visit during any of the peak times. We're hoping to see lots of birds but even if we don't, it will be an incredibly beautiful place to stay!

Where we're staying also has trails to hike and cycle, though we won't be bringing our bikes this time around. The plan is to drive out there and just hang out. We want to just enjoy the beautiful area and not do too much. We need to see how we like this camping business. Heh.

Pumpkin and Molly will also be going so we'll have the whole family with us! We can't believe that we're really and truly going to begin our RV touring in just a few days!

That being said, we still have lots of things to do but we'll be ready and on time when Monday rolls around.

Today I'm featuring pictures I took a couple of days ago with my new Sony camera! Steve and I drove about 30 miles to Grants Pass to do some errands. Afterwards we drove to a park that lines the edge of the Rogue River. While Steve entertained himself on his phone, I hopped out and dove into ducky and goosy heaven! :)

There are always lots of people-sensitized Canada Geese and Mallard Ducks there so I knew I'd have plenty of opportunities for some close-up bird pictures. Other species are usually there too and this day the star was a gorgeously hideous Muscovy Duck! A resting seagull made for some nice pictures too.

I wasn't sure how much luck I'd have with my new camera but I clicked away and crossed my fingers. Imagine my delight when I discovered dozens of excellent shots that were crisp and included soft backgrounds! I can see that over-exposure will be an issue on bright days--you may notice some blowout here and there--but because I have the choice to save my images in RAW format, I was able to correct most of the problems very nicely.

I can't tell you how pleased I am. This camera is so much better than my last bridge camera! I mean, obviously it should be--a camera from 2010 should be blown out of the water by one from 2017--but it's awesome to see this for myself. I am finding some aberrations at full zoom but hey, my Canon 100-300 had them too. They aren't bad and easy enough to fix. To have the freedom to capture portraits of animals I hadn't been able to for so many years…I'm over the moon! :)

Today's main picture is a portrait of the Muscovy Duck. I'm afraid this species fell out of the Ugly Tree and hit every branch on the way down! *cringe* :D However, they are really interesting to look at and have gorgeous variegated feathers to appreciate. I'm also sharing a full view of the Muscovy and mallard hybrid with a portrait crop that I captured. The mallard looks different than the normal longer-faced types I've seen. I know they interbreed with other ducks sometimes, maybe that accounts for the lovely petite face? I'll have more to share in the next few days, including some neat Canada Geese images. :D

Pam, I did a search for "duck" and came up with Flicka and his ducky toy! Awwww, how adorable. Moosey and Zoey both loved to shred stuff but Moosey loved STICKS. He'd happily gnaw on a stick until there was nothing left…then he'd look up at us and he mouth would be covered in stick bits and drool…*shudder*…but he was so proud and happy that of course we'd exclaim, "YOU DID IT!! GOOD BOY MOOSIE!!!" And he'd beam with big happy eyes and bang his tail on the ground in joy! :D *sigh*…we miss our Moosey and Zoey ever so… I hope that the storm is long gone and sun has brightened your day like it has here! *BIG HUGS from southern Oregon* :)

Explored on 4/20/19, highest placement, #3.