Washington Duck Photography Project

A Harlequin Duck at Semiahmoo in Northwest Washington state.
Harlequin Duck

One of my ongoing projects has been to photograph all of the interesting ducks and other waterfowl that are commonly found in Western Washington. Until I got interested in bird photography I wouldn’t have guessed that there are 27 different species of ducks that can be found within a few hour drive of my house in Northwest Washington. I have made it out several times this winter looking for new duck subjects and here are a few photos from one of those trips–a visit to the Semiahmoo spit near Blaine, Washington.

Harlequin Ducks are one of my favorite ducks–the colors of the male Harlequin are amazing. I have taken photos of Harlequin Ducks in the past, but in December enjoyed a close encounter with a pair of Harlequins at the Semiahmoo spit. The ducks stayed near the dock I was shooting from for around 20 minutes, and I was able to get better photos of this interesting duck than I had taken previously.  The photo above is of the male duck.

A Northern Pintail Duck at the Semiahmoo spit it Northwest Washington state.
Northern Pintail

One of the reasons I visited the Semiahmoo spit was to look for Northern Pintails, a type of duck that I didn’t have any photos of. As hoped, I found a good sized flock of Pintails at the spit and finally added some photos to my portfolio.

A Long-tailded Duck at the Semiahmoo spit in Northwest Washington state.
Long-tailed Duck

The main purpose of my visit to Semiahmoo was to look for Long-tailed ducks. Talk about an amazing looking duck! These birds aren’t super common, so when I heard reports of them at Semiahmoo I jumped in the car a few days later for the two hour drive to find them. Fortunately, the Long-tailed Ducks were there. Unfortunately they stayed a long way out in Drayton Harbor, so I wasn’t able to get any closeup shots. Oh well, mission accomplished–at least I got a photo of new type of duck for my project and I now have a good reason to go back in search of some closer shots.

Visit my online store!


Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Close Menu