![](https://narakiphotography.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/20240407-Z8A_5564-1024x682.jpg)
トモエガモ大群 / Large flock of Baikal Teals
A flock of Baikal Teals taking off at once. The best shot of the day, taken at the right moment in good light with a simple background. Maybe I have used up all my luck since the beginning of the year?
![トモエガモ / Baikal Teals](https://xs993577.xsrv.jp/test/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/20220102-DSC_0722-2.jpg)
There is a place that I started visiting a few years ago as my first birding stop on the second day of the New Year. This is also where I took the photo of the mallard, which is one of the top photos on this site. Last year, I was not blessed with good light at all, but this time I was able to shoot as much as I wanted under excellent conditions. I used a Nikon D500 with AF-S NIKKOR 500mm f/5.6E PF ED VR.
A large flock of Baikal Teals. It was not within the frame of view at all, and there seemed to be nearly 20,000 ducks gathered there.
![トモエガモ / Baikal Teals](https://xs993577.xsrv.jp/test/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/20220102-DSC_0207.jpg)
I have no idea what triggers them, but they just fly around. I was able to see the powerful dance right in front of my eyes. I don’t think I was the cause of it, because I was fixed in an immovable position after I was settled in the shooting location.
![トモエガモ / Baikal Teals](https://xs993577.xsrv.jp/test/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/20220102-DSC_0584-2.jpg)
![トモエガモ / Baikal Teals](https://xs993577.xsrv.jp/test/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/20220102-DSC_0624-2.jpg)
This time I also took a video. Note the last 10 seconds.
Other birds are of course present. Great Cormorant, Eurasian Coot, and Northern Lapwing also came to the site.
![カワウ / Great Cormorant](https://xs993577.xsrv.jp/test/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/20220102-DSC_0373.jpg)
A solitary Great Crested Grebe. The absence of a large flock in the background seems weird.
![カンムリカイツブリ / Great Crested Grebe](https://xs993577.xsrv.jp/test/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/20220102-DSC_0469-2.jpg)
At the closest point, it was probably about 30 meters away. I still had to crop the image.
![トモエガモ / Baikal Teals](https://xs993577.xsrv.jp/test/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/20220102-DSC_0023-3.jpg)
![トモエガモ / Baikal Teals](https://xs993577.xsrv.jp/test/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/20220102-DSC_0919-2.jpg)
![トモエガモ / Baikal Teals](https://xs993577.xsrv.jp/test/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/20220102-DSC_0823-2.jpg)
Different timing for the opening shot. This is what it looks like without cropping, which I like.
![トモエガモ / Baikal Teals](https://xs993577.xsrv.jp/test/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/20220102-DSC_0727-2.jpg)
I don’t often photograph ducks in flight from the front. It must be because they are always flying away.
![トモエガモ / Baikal Teals](https://xs993577.xsrv.jp/test/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/20220102-DSC_0054-2.jpg)
![トモエガモ / Baikal Teals](https://xs993577.xsrv.jp/test/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/20220102-DSC_0757-2.jpg)
![トモエガモ / Baikal Teals](https://xs993577.xsrv.jp/test/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/20220102-DSC_0784-2.jpg)
Unexpectedly, no one was in front of me this time (except for the walkers), and I had the majority of the show to myself. It was worth lying on a thin sheet on the cold ground for a long time. It was a good start to the day.
![トモエガモ / Baikal Teals](https://xs993577.xsrv.jp/test/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/20220102-DSC_0005-3.jpg)