To start up with - - no I'm not leaving unless you guys are fed up with me....

I have another duck to present. One I've looked for even longer than the Wood duck. So let me here present a few from the other weekend of my now favorite male duck - - shot with the D300 & the amazing 300 AF-S f/4 EXIFs embedded as always...

the small, but mighty - -the elegant

Male Mandarin Duck

# 1 - cruising in to carefully say Hello



# 2 - In all his glory....



# 3 - Coming closer...



# 4 - Closer still, but keeping an eye on me...



# 5 - I think this is his Swan-pose..... or is he just showing off....



# 6 - In the glory of the warm Sun....



# 7 - reflections.....



Now on a more serious note.... & please understand I'm just trying to heal....

The last few days have been very hard for all of our family. Most of you know we have a lot of pets. With this come the anguish of losing them now & then. I love & treasure all our pets & so does my husband luckily...... The one pet I always expected to stay with us due to their long lifespan was our terror bird Marahute. Marahute was an Umbrella Cockatoo. He was 18 years old, & that's no age for a large Cockatoo - he could have lived past 75.

Marahute was born on the 29th of September 1991 & we got him at 4 months from the breeder here in Los Angeles. I tube fed him as he did not know how to eat seed still.

Long story short - we had moved him outside many years ago & he was so happy out there with everything going on. He ruled the backyard. Always safely locked up & covered & secured each night he loved his life...

Unfortunately a raccoon somehow went for him Thursday night & what greeted me Friday morning was a horrible murder site. Still in his cage was our poor Baby Bird....

So please - if my answers & comments have been strange - - I am still in chock & crying a lot. This is in his memory.....

Lil

Our Marahute....

Happiness is a Stick - shot with the D200 & the 70-200VR



Always Daddy's Baby Boy

Hello Lil, I sure wish you and Ross the best in dealing with this loss The two images for his tribute are very nice. My thoughts are with you both.

On a brighter note you and the Mandarin male model have presented some wonderful images! That duck is gorgeous and the color and detail you have brought out are truly enjoyable Most elegant beauty here and #2 is a fine display of it and the very wonderful light and reflection of #7 would be my favorite!

Take good care.......
Karl

Lil - I am so sorry for your lost...

"leaving and unless you guys are fed up..." what's going on Lil?

Hi Lil,
I am very sad to hear about your loss. My thoughts and prayer during this hard period are with you and Ross.

You have some very nice pics of the Mandarin Duck and your bird.
Please take care.
Dan

Very sorry to hear about your loss, Lil. I'm sure these shots have brightened your day, but I can feel your pain.
These are really great images: well exposed, with beautiful colors and fine detail. May be you found a new pet
Cheers
Socrate

Karl Witt wrote:
Hello Lil, I sure wish you and Ross the best in dealing with this loss The two images for his tribute are very nice. My thoughts are with you both.

On a brighter note you and the Mandarin male model have presented some wonderful images! That duck is gorgeous and the color and detail you have brought out are truly enjoyable Most elegant beauty here and #2 is a fine display of it and the very wonderful light and reflection of #7 would be my favorite!

Take good care.......
Karl

Dearest Karl,

you have been with me since Friday on this. Thank you for your support. It's still such a chock....

I am happy you like my Mandarin shots. I'm glad you picked # 2. That's my favorite. He did it a few times, but on the 300mm on the D300 I'm at 450mm & that's the full frame - none of these are cropped. So he would go out of frame for me all the time. Luckily I got this one perfectly in the frame. I'm also happy you chose # 7 - it even looks like he's reflecting on things.....

Thank you Karl for being here for me & your support.

Lil

Thang wrote:
Lil - I am so sorry for your lost...

"leaving and unless you guys are fed up..." what's going on Lil?



Thank you Thang -

like I wrote in my PM. I was trying to lighten things up. It's been three difficult days.....

Lil

danjacquitaylo wrote:
Hi Lil,
I am very sad to hear about your loss. My thoughts and prayer during this hard period are with you and Ross.

You have some very nice pics of the Mandarin Duck and your bird.
Please take care.
Dan



Thank you Dan,

we appreciate your thoughts & support. It's nice to feel supported.

Glad you like my Mandarin - he's such a handsome fellow...

Lil

Shasoc wrote:
Very sorry to hear about your loss, Lil. I'm sure these shots have brightened your day, but I can feel your pain.
These are really great images: well exposed, with beautiful colors and fine detail. May be you found a new pet
Cheers
Socrate

Thank you Socrate,

glad you enjoyed the shots. He sure would make a beautiful pet, but he belongs away from raccoons - far away from raccoons.

Lil

Lil I am very sorry for your loss, you have much support here at FM and I hope things get better for you.

Great work with the Mandarin I have never seen one in person before.

Heath

My sympathies to you and your family, Lil. Birds are cool, and Marahute looks like he was a cool character.

The more pets you have, the more sorrow you will endure with their passing. The memories you shared with them will last a lifetime. Pets are family.

Tony

I like the #7 Mandarin shot the best. To me, they always look better in subdued lighting.

Great poses on these Lil, congrats on this set. So sorry for your loss as well.

C.

Lil, those are wonderful images. The mandarin is exquisite. Please accept our thoughts and prayers for the loss of your pet. That is a very difficult part of life.
Al

Excellent images of the mandarin Lil, So sorry to read about Marahute. Ron

So sorry for your loss of your beloved Cockatoo, 'Marahute'...I lost my Blue & Gold Macaw "Oz" in my divorce settlement a few years ago and still miss him....They are very special pets....
Those sure are great shots of the Mandarin, that's a very beautiful bird.....

I'm totally fed up with you, Lil

Awesome shotz of the Mandarin. Beautiful backgrounds and reflections and some cool poses

Ken

Lil, first I must say I'm sorry for your loss. I know how hard it is, as we have many pets as well in our household and that unfortunate time arrives every so often. Your mandarin duck images are outstanding with great sharpness and beautiful colors.
Herb

Lil -
Sorry to hear of your loss. It will take time, but time does make things easier.
On another note .............. the Mandarin shots were very nice. I especially enjoyed the wing-flap shots.
- Ken

Nice Mandarin series Lil. They are sharp with great color. I like # 2 for the pose. Very sorry to hear the bad news about Marahute.

Sorry to hear about your lose but happy to see you got a new favorite duck.

Wacky roger
Founding Member Of OOOPs

Again, I'm sorry to hear about your loss of your beloved bird.

This duck series is a brilliant display of color. I like #2 best for its best pose.He looks to be a happy camper.
And #7 has the best color. It's really interesting to see how light plays with color.

Hide

Great, colorful and crisp set Lil Mandarin duck is one of the most beautiful creatures I know of and she is my favorite wild life subject.

PM send,

Garen

So sorry to hear about the loss of one of your much loved pets and cherished family member Lil.
Martin