Ruddy Duck

A different style of picture-the tail gives it away.

This picture was taken in the predawn hours at a local lake in the San Diego CA area. I normally am not a great fan of silhouette type pictures, but if the bird can be readily IDed just by its silhouette, I am more drawn to the picture. This is a Ruddy Duck, a common year round resident in Southern California. Most of the year it is a somewhat drab duck, but during the mating season the male’s beak turns a beautiful turquoise color. This species has a distinct tail that IDs it.
I was sitting in a portable photo blind trying to take pictures of dancing grebes across the lake when this guy swam by, almost too close to focus. Because of the darkness and the nondescript nature of the duck, I decided to underexpose. This picture has had canvas added to the left and bottom in Photoshop because I had too much lens-the duck filled up the entire frame.