27 January 2013

Whio (male) at Leon Kinvig hut


When I photographed this male whio, the light had almost gone, but ISO 800 and some careful work in Lightroom rescued an otherwise very dark photograph. This is how you often see whio — at dusk, the edge of the water, the edge of the night.

I didn't know I'd see him again a few weeks later — that time accompanied by a female.



[17 December 2012, Panasonic Lumix GH1, 100–300 mm at 286 mm, ISO 800, 1/200 at f5.6. Grain added.]

All content © 2013 Pete McGregor

4 comments:

Zhoen said...

A liminal duck. Whio is a better name. Duck is too flat and dull a word for these creatures.

pohanginapete said...

Zhoen, I couldn't agree more. "Whio" is rapidly becoming the more widely used common name; a decade ago most people looked puzzled when I mentioned it, now it's often not necessary to append "blue duck"

I don't think Hymenolaimus malacorhynchus will catch on in the vernacular, though.

Zhoen said...

Mallard Ducks, on the other hand... that fits.

pohanginapete said...

Yes ;^)