The Ruddy Duck is one of the variety of birds I often look for during spring migration.

I try to stop at one of our local parks that features a pond regularly looking for migrating birds in the early spring.

Some days are better than others. Sometimes I don’t see any migratory birds passing through. Other days I am treated to a wide variety of migrating birds al in one visit.

It seems that in the last couple years I have not seen as many migratory birds at this particular location.

But the Ruddy Duck is one I have seen on multiple occasions.

The Ruddy Duck is a small bird. And the Ruddy Duck can be easy to miss, not just due to its size, but also because it is a diving duck.

Ruddy Ducks dive underwater to search for food. So if you just give the water a quick scan and then move on you may miss them. It is definitely worth sticking around a few extra minutes to see if a Ruddy Duck pops back up to the surface while you are there.

Photo details: Nikon D300S. Nikon 300mm f/4. Focal length 420mm. ISO 400. 1/640 sec. f/5.6.