There's a stranger in town. I went to visit the duck pond to see if there were any new arrivals yet (of the little kind). And instead I found this stranger. When did he get here? Is he just passing thru? Poor thing was all by himself, totally ignored by the other ducks. The snobs. He wasn't shy at all though.

Photo Data - D200, 70-180 VR lens, handheld @ 100 ISO
1 - 300mm 1/500 sec @ F10
2 - 300mm 1/320 sec @ F9, converted to bw with an orange filter
3 - 155mm 1/350 sec @ F10, converted to bw with a red filter

Great shots - he only has one leg! ????? · 2007-04-29: 00:21

That red on his face makes for very dramatic coloring....but I wonder if it's natural or some sort of disease process? Carley · 2007-04-29: 00:23

I think it's called a Muscovy Duck and they all have the red bumps on their bill. One of the sites I was looking at called it grotesque. Guess they weren't a fan of it. Oh, and he did have two legs. He hid the other one up under his feathers. After a while, he waddled off so it was fine, he just liked standing on one leg, I guess. vollenda · 2007-04-29: 00:27

poor thing - for them to call him grotesque! we are all different, and so are the birds - beauty is each to it's own. it seems like it would be related to a condor or something the way that red is on his face/beak! great shots, and I love that it looks like he has only one leg!! water birds are GREAT for that pose! MidsummerSilence · 2007-04-29: 01:06

aww i totally love his colours PaulGraham · 2007-04-29: 06:11

good duck, xxcellent light on #1 thanks for sharing aimeric · 2007-04-29: 06:39

Not ugly at all - beautiful! jet28 · 2007-04-29: 07:18

I love the lighting you've captured on the first shot. mugsycat · 2007-04-29: 08:29

I took these shots around 7:30 in the morning so there was a soft directional light on him. And with him posing on the rock like that, there was no shadows from trees. It as great light. vollenda · 2007-04-29: 12:36

kinda cute.. not ugly!! flemspar · 2007-04-29: 14:17

Poor duck—to be ignored, but you've given him a 'place in the sun'. Wonderful photos. photopoet · 2007-04-29: 21:53

Funny duck! LisetteT · 2007-04-30: 00:17

great portraits magpy · 2007-04-30: 18:58

beautiful, love the first one! Tachikama · 2007-05-08: 03:30

Tagged: bw muscovy duck wildlife