The Story
I photographed this Blue-winged Teal (Spatula discors) at El Desaguadero on Lago de Tota, near Aquitania, Boyacá, Colombia, at about 3,015 meters. It is one of the smaller dabbling ducks. It breeds in North America, from southern Alaska to Nova Scotia, and many winter far to the south, as far as Brazil and central Chile. The male’s call is a short whistle, while the female gives a soft quack. IUCN lists it as Least Concern.
I made this frame with a Canon R5 and the RF 800mm f/11 plus the RF 1.4x extender, at 1/750 sec, f/16, ISO 1600, +1 EV. Lago de Tota, in the Sugamuxi Province of eastern Boyacá, is Colombia’s largest lake and the source of the Upía River.
©2021 Adam Rainoff Photographer
The bird
The Blue-winged Teal (Spatula discors) belongs to the family Anatidae (Ducks, Geese, and Waterfowl) in the eBird/Clements taxonomy.
Source: eBird.org (opens in a new tab)
Conservation
Least Concern on the IUCN Red List (assessment published 2021), with the population trend listed as increasing. Source: IUCN Red List
