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Green-winged Teal

 I found this pair of beautiful Green-winged Teal last April at Kelly's Brook. I went in search of a warbler reported to be there but I found these instead. They were likely getting ready to settle down and have their family because they absolutely did not want me near.
In order to get these pictures, with my old lens at that time, I had to work my way quietly through the woods and hide away. It seemed that every time I got close, they would move. This went on for quite a while. I was pleased to be able to get this shot with both the male and female together.

This is the best shot that I got of the female, though I hardly knew at the time. On this day I managed to walk into a branch and get a very bad scratch on my eye. It is no wonder because while moving through the woods, I had my eyes on these birds not where I was going. It took more than two weeks for my eye to recover. I certainly learned my lesson that day to always wear sunglasses when walking deep in the woods.

The Green-winged Teal is relatively common to Newfoundland, although I have not seen many. They are such an attractive bird that I will surely continue my search for a great photo opportunity.