Duck Week: Northern Pintail

Northern Pintail -- Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge, CA
Canon EOS Rebel T5i, EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM, f/5.6, 1/1600s, ISO: 320

Northern Pintails are the best dressed ducks I know.  Their lines are sharp.  Their bills are polished.  There might be flashier ducks but none spiffier.

Northern Pintail -- Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge, CA
Canon EOS Rebel T5i, EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM, f/5.6, 1/2000s, ISO: 500

Northern Pintail

Northern Pintail -- Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge, CA
Canon EOS Rebel T5i, EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM, f/5.6, 1/2000s, ISO: 500

If I had to pick my favorite waterfowl common to the Central Valley in winter I'd probably choose the Northern Pintail.  I like their black and brown coloring and their fancy tails, but it's probably the glossy beak that really does it for me.  These guys have style.

All Your Ducks Are Belong to Us

Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge, CA
Canon PowerShot SX40 HS

Northern pintails and northern shovelers are packed in tight in this photo from a couple of years ago at the Sacramento Wildlife Refuge.  The populations can get a bit dense in the winter.

Northern Pintail

Northern Pintail -- Arrowhead Marsh, Oakland, CA
Canon EOS Rebel T5i, EF-S 55-250mm Zoom Lens, 1/500s, f/6.3, ISO:200

Pintails come and go over the course of the winter at Arrowhead Marsh.  They number in the thousands at the Central Valley refuges, while at the estuary we seem to get a handful of lost souls every now and then.  They are pretty birds that photograph well.