By JC AMBERLYN River City Newspapers When I was about 13 or 14, my stepdad brought out his old Sears SLR camera and taught me how to use it. It was the first time I ever shot a camera that wasn’t a simple point-and-shoot. It was my first exposure to thinking about f-stops and aperture and all the other factors that go into more professional photography.
Where did we go so I could practice shooting a camera? I was wildlife and animal-obsessed even then, but wild creatures rarely pose for pictures reliably. We went to our local duck pond, naturally. You could always count on something interesting there.
I had a fun day out there with my stepdad, photographing mallards, pintails, gadwalls and other ducks, making memories that stick with me to this day. And to this day, I sure love visiting and photographing “duck ponds.” It takes me right back to my childhood haunts.
Plus, the beauty and variety of waterfowl is always impressive. Of course, here in the desert, I don’t often have access to anything like a duck pond. However, life finds a way, as they say, and waterfowl can often be found here in Mohave County if you know where to look.
Anyplace near the Colorado River will have its share of birds, but even Kingman hosts them from time to time. Places like the Cerbat Cliffs Golf Course, with its lush, grassy lawns and waterholes, attracts ducks and geese even in the heat of summer, something I was reminded of recently. I visited the golf course for an assignment and twice spotted a flock of Canada geese hanging around one of the waterholes.
They were accompanied by several mallards and seemed to be supervised by the resident turtles (who are certainly not locally native and are introduced into this environment, but I don’t know specifically when or why.) Canada (not Canadian) geese are an incredibly successful species (Branta canadensis) found throughout most of North America and introduced elsewhere. They are mostly herbivores but may eat small fish and insects.
They adapt very well to human environments, too, grazing on grass, feeding through garbage or accepting human handouts. Their numbers have even increased into “pest” proportions in some areas due to their noise, droppings and aggression when defending their young or nests. They are popular migratory game birds, too, protected with regulated seasons and bag limits.
But you can shoot them with a camera any time, just don’t get too close to the babies! In my case, if there were youngsters they were already grown to adult size and I was able to photograph the entire family or flock without disturbing the birds, thanks to my zoom lens. For the moment, I was a kid again, framing my picture, thinking about composition and light, enjoying my local “duck pond” once more..
