A nice duck capture Elizabeth. I like that duck in the middle he ether flew off and his shadow stayed or he just swam through an oil slick. Great post.

Ed

Perfect color and clarity....I really love that deep blue water. Makes me think of the child's show with the song "One if these things aren't quiet like the other."

It is the rare vampire duck E~. They only appear around Halloween. If you notice it is not casting a reflection either. You should report this to Ducks Unlimited. A good find.

TicK

lovely and well captured, like the black one.....

Don't know... (TICK) could be "Birdibus Coldpins"...the featured vampire in DUCK Shadows! (LOL) Nice capture, Allison...

Interesting looking image, the duck in the middle looks like a shadow, almost like a gohst :-) Very well captured!

Very nice and spooky Elizabeth! Strange things happen this time of year!! :) Steve

---I know there must be a reasonable explanation---

Elizabeth, can only guess for the reason why it preferred to stay 'incognito'. Reading Tick's comment above, didn't know that ducks were aware of the Halloween phenomenon, lol.
Interesting and good capture.

Regards, Cornelius.

Elizabeth.. a wonderful photo and the size of the image works very good like this! Mich

Interesting shot, almost looks like the one in the middle is a shadow. Wonder if he is the black sheep of the family or I should say the black duck of the family, looks that way. Nice capture.

If there is a reasonable explanation for why it is in shadow, it will have to come from someone other than me. That's a real teaser. Could be a black ghost duck. Pretty cool capture, Elizabeth.

JImbob

Very nice photo and yes it is strange the middle one is dark.

You captured a ghost duck , congrats.That is weird though..This is a beautiful photo with excellent color , clarity and superb lighting..

Liz, these birds are racing to the finish line. I can easily see who will first, second, and third! I am betting the trifecta at this Aqueduck.

Elizabeth, could it be the light is coming from left to right in the pic and the duck in the front is at just the right angle to cast his shadow on the one in the middle? Just a guess on my part.

It's Daffy, or his inspiration, never have seen a "little black duck" before except in the cartoon but here is one in real life, kinda cool really. Great shot too.

Go easy on him, Elizabeth, he's just having a real bad week. Like the "Born Loser," his personal little cloud has been following him everywhere. It was low enough here to cast it's shadow on him only, but high enough to keep from getting in the photo. :oP

The light is coming in low from the right, probably late evening? There must have been something small, like a cluster of leaves from a tree, that cast a shadow over him only. It had to have been pretty small and dense — there's no discoloration in the water around him except for right in front of him. Do you see that slightly darker and softer blue area? That's the only explanation I can come up with. Cool shot, anyway. Not your normal duck photo.

-Nikoneer

Fascinating duck capture! Beautiful blue water and lighting! Can't explain the shadowed duck,but enjoy this shot!

You've never heard of the Halloween Ghost Duck? He flies in and settles between a duck and his mate, totally confusing them, and then melts away.

LOL... I have to go with the ghost duckie as well. As I have no idea what caused this to happen. I would have said shadow but, it seems strage that is only covering the one little duckie. Lovely capture to go with it, though. Lyn.