On this morning’s power walk, I made a brief stop by the river to watch several flocks of ducks.

There were Mallards at this spot last week, but it seems they’ve taken their unmistakable green necks and moved on.

I wasn’t able to get close enough to the riverbank for a good shot, without the ducks getting skittish. They’re not as bold as the geese.

I was happy I caught this flock in take-off. Even though the photo isn’t as crisp as I had hoped it would be, it gave me enough information to identify them as Blue-Winged Teal, which is a new species to me.

“Blue-winged teal, like other teal are the half-pints of the duck world. About half the size of a mallard, the blue-winged teal are easily recognized by their grey-blue shoulder patch and by the male’s white head-crescent and flank patch. … Male’s bill is blue-black and the female’s is dusky with black spots.”

Ducks Unlimited