Cinnamon Teal

In Search of The Cinnamon Teal

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On April 23, 2019, Brady Lichtenberg, Biologist and manager of Eagle Bluffs Conservation Area (EBCA) posted a picture of a Cinnamon Teal (CT) he spotted in pool #1.  This was an uncommon bird at EBCA.  Compared to a lot of the other ducks that visit this area it is distinctive in its colors.  More about its identification later but for now the quest in search of the Cinnamon Teal begins.  

My first attempt was on the 25^th.  I drove to EBCA in the afternoon because pool #10 and #11 or on the east side of the main drive so that would put the sun at my back while highlighting by subject should I be able to locate him.  The drive to EBCA from where I live is about 35 to 45 minutes depending on traffic.  I live in Holts Summit, MO and EBCA is north of me but slightly southwest of Columbia, MO.  It’s a pretty easy drive being four-lane highway 90% of the way.

We have had a lot of rain lately which can make the gravel road through EBCA muddy or soupy but on this day it was in good condition.  After the winter deluge,  the Missouri Department of Conservation laid new gravel on the road which was really nice.  Thank you MDC. The only problem with this area is the speed that some seem to have to travel at.  This is a beautiful conservation wildlife area and driving at 10 miles per an hour lets you enjoy the scenery, 20 miles per hour is too fast but there are those who consistently drive through this area at speeds of 35 to 45 miles per hour.  Needless to say you better brace yourself for a lot of gravel dust which can be very damaging to a camera body and its lens glass.  I have taken to carrying a towel with me to cover my equipment when this happens.  Back to my story.  I was prompted to head out in search of the CT on this day because we got a break in the weather and the sun was out in all its glory.

Upon arrival, I stopped to check on Bandy and MOE, our resident Eagles who happen to be on yet another successful year of hatching three eaglet chicks.  This marks the fifth year of producing offspring that I have observed. EBCA consists of 4,431-acres of wetlands so allow yourself some time to make frequent stops.  There are 17 shallow pools and 30 miles of levees.  The Missouri River and Perche Creek provide over 10miles of stream frontage. Depending on the time of year there can be a lot of waterfowl and songbirds to see.  I then headed straight for pools 10 and 11 to locate my subject.  There were a lot of Blue-winged Teal in these pools but no CT.  Then again I forgot my binoculars so I could have missed it.  I got some great pictures of a Little Blue Heron and a juvenile cormorant but I struck out on finding the CT.  

Nikon D850, Sigma 150-600, f/8, 1/1250sec, ISO 1000

Why I chose these settings?  This is a f/5.6 lens and in most cases its sweet spot is f/8 hence my selection of f/8.  I always strive for shutter speeds greater than the focal length of my lens.  In this case I had the lens extended to 600mm so I wanted to make sure the shutter speed was greater than 600mm.  I selected 1/1250 sec to give me some play because I sometimes have trouble holding my rig steady due to shoulder surgery.

Nikon D850, Sigma 150-600, f/8, 1/1250sec, ISO 160

Note here the settings are the same; however, since I am shooting into the sky, which even though it was overcast was still very bright and this allowed me to lower my sensitivity or ISO to 100

The next day was another beautiful sunny day so once again I took to the road in search of the CT.  Again I chose the late afternoon and made sure to pack my binoculars.  I didn’t waste any time and headed straight for pool #10.  I made frequent stops scanning the pool banks.  There were a lot of Blue Teal and shorebirds resting and sleeping in the afternoon sun.  It was easy to spot CT because he was active in the water not to mention his beautiful rich tones of reddish-brown plumage stood out. 

Nikon D500, Sigma 150-600, f/8, 1/1250, ISO400

The only thing I change here was my ISO.  Another day and it was sunny so I did not need as much sensitivity but as I have already mention about the lens length to focal length settings, I wanted to make sure my shutter speed was fast enough to freeze the action.  Remember this correlation.  With a fixed aperture, the higher the ISO the faster will be your shutter speed but the faster the shutter speed the less light you let in.  Its always a balancing act.

I observed him swimming, diving for food, then preening himself and then repeating these actions repeatedly.  Since he was staying in a somewhat restricted area I turned off the car motor got out my camera with a telephoto lens and began taking pictures 

Nikon D500, Sigma 150-600, f/8, 1/1250, ISO 400, EV +0.33

Here I opted to add some exposure compensation (EV).  This helped me move my histogram more to the right side wall to better increase for a correct exposure.  I shoot in RAW and my camera has a tendency to underexpose a little so I am always aware of this.  Now I usually shoot at a little underexposed because I can recover the shadows in post processing better than trying to bring back overexposures.

According to the Audubon Web Site, it is uncommon for him to be in our area although they are common and widespread. While many of our marsh ducks are found from coast to coast, the Cinnamon Teal is strictly western. 

Nikon D500, Sigma 150-600,1/640sec, ISO 400, EV +0.67

I was able to lower my shutter speed in this image because the duck was standing still BUT to insure sharpness I kept the shutter speed greater than the focal length of 600mm

Unique among our northern dabbling ducks, this teal also has nesting populations in South America. A close relative of Blue-winged Teal (and sometimes hybridizing with it), the Cinnamon Teal has a slightly larger bill, better developed for straining food items out of the water. In some ways, this species seems intermediate between Blue-winged Teal and Northern Shoveler. ^{(Audubon.Org)}  

Nikon D500, Sigma 150-600, f/8, 1/1250sec, ISO 400, EV +0.67

Switching back to a faster shutter speed enabled me to freeze the water when this CT decided to shake his booty. 

Usually forages in shallow water, swimming forward with head partly submerged, and straining food from the water. One feeding bird may follow another, taking advantage of food stirred up by paddling actions of the first bird. Occasionally feeds on land near water.  Their diet consists of seeds, plant material, and insects. 

Nikon D850, Sigma 100-400, f/6.3, 1/2500sec, ISO 400

Because I wanted a faster shutter speed, 1/2500sec, I lowered my aperture by 1-stop to f/6.3  this still gave me enough depth-of-field to capture this action.

They can lay anywhere from 9-12 eggs with a 21-25 day incubation period by the female. Once the young are introduced to water they can find their own food and they are capable of flight 7 weeks after hatching.

Breeding Males have a deep brownish-red body with a long black bill, red eye, and black back and rear.  The Blue Teal and Cinnamon Teal females look a lot alike  My research shows that the Cinnamon Teal, Blue-winged Teal, and Northern-Shoveler all have the same blue/white/green feathers on the wings when extended. Climate change could affect these birds migration patterns in the future. 

Nikon D850, Sigma 100-400, f/6.3, 1/4000sec, ISO 640

I saw him do this previously and to make sure I captured it I upped my ISO to 640 which gave me 2/3 stop of light and combined with the 1-stop increase by lowering my f-stop to f/6.3 was enough to increase my shutter speed to 1/4000 sec. which froze his wing movement.

So concludes another successful day photographing wildlife at Eagle Bluffs Conservation Area. There is a lot of diversity here and as the days of summer come on a lot of the waterfowl will continue on their journey north but our eagles and hawks and herons and egrets will be with us all summer providing ample opportunities to capture some wildlife in nature. I will leave you with this image of a Wood Duck who flew across my path on my drive out. 

Nikon D850, Sigma 100-400, f/6.3, 1/1250, ISO 640

Probably should have shot this faster but it happened so quick I did not have time to make any adjustments but panning helped.  Not tack sharp but it works.  This is were panning pays off.

Thanks for stopping by.  If you enjoyed this story please leave a comment.

John Gilbert

Yellow-Headed Blackbirds

YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRDS

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The Yellow-Headed Blackbird is undoubtedly has declined in some areas with draining of marshes; however, still widespread and very common but only on the western half of Missouri. It is a member of the Blackbirds and Orioles family. Its habitat is fresh marshes. Forages in fields, open country. Breeds in freshwater sloughs, marshy lake borders, tall cattails growing in water up to 3-4' deep. Forages around marshes and also common in open pastures, plowed fields, cattle pens, feedlots.

The male Yellow-headed Blackbird is impressive to see, but not to hear: it may have the worst song of any North American bird, a hoarse, harsh scraping. Yellow-heads nest in noisy colonies in big cattail marshes of the west and midwest; when not nesting, they gather in flocks in open fields, often with other blackbirds. At some favored points in the southwest in winter, they may be seen in flocks of thousands. 

Forages mostly by walking on the ground in open fields or near the water's edge; also forages low in marsh vegetation. Sometimes catches insects in flight. May follow farm machinery in fields to feed on insects and grubs turned up by the plow. Except in nesting season, usually forages in flocks, often associated with other blackbirds

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Mostly insects and seeds. Feeds heavily on insects in summer, especially beetles, caterpillars, and grasshoppers, also ants, wasps, and others, plus a few spiders and snails. Young are fed mostly insects. Probably two-thirds of the diet consists of seeds, including grass and weed seeds plus waste grain.

Typically nests in colonies in marshes, each male selecting territory within the colony and defending it against rivals by singing. One male may have as many as 5 mates. Nest placed in the marsh, firmly lashed to standing vegetation (cattails, bulrushes, reeds) growing in water, usually no more than 3' above water's surface. Nest (built by female) is a bulky, deep cup woven of aquatic plants, lined with dry grass or with fine, dry marsh plants.   

It lays between 3-5 eggs.  Both parents feed nestlings which leave the nest after 9-12 days and are ready to fly in about 3 weeks in the meantime the nestlings remain among dense marsh plants. ^{(Audubon Field Guide)}