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  • A turtle takes a swim in a pond at Busch Wildlife in Saint Charles, Missouri
    Turtle Takes A Swim.jpg
  • An American White Pelican Swims In The Lights Of Night<br />
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One of North America's largest birds, the American White Pelican is distinctive for its nine-foot wingspan, conspicuous white body, and the improbable proportions of its large bill and pouch. Despite their size, the pelicans are graceful fliers, with flocks soaring high in the air and wheeling in unison. In flight, black wing tips and trailing edges are good field marks. American White Pelicans may be seen cooperatively foraging in shallow waters, or at adjacent loafing sites, where they are tolerant of human observation at a respectful distance.
    Pelican Swims At Night.jpg
  • A family of geese with mother goose in the background being led by the goslings swim through warm green waters
    A Goosey Family Affair.jpg
  • Three baby gosling swim along in a row on the water
    We Three Goslings.jpg
  • Three Geese Swim Along In Blue Waters
    We Three Geese.jpg
  • American White Pelican just relaxing and casually swimming across the pond.
    American White Pelican.jpg
  • A Wood Duck swims towards the camera casting reflections in the warm water below.<br />
<br />
The wood duck is one of the most beautiful of the North American ducks. In the early 1900s, the species was considered in danger of extinction throughout its range due to market shooting, habitat loss, and hunting seasons that extended into the breeding season. <br />
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With the implementation of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act in 1918 between the United States and Canada, market shooting was outlawed and judicious hunting season lengths and bag limits were instituted. These changes, together with the construction and placement of nest boxes during the last seven decades, have resulted in a dramatic comeback of wood duck populations.<br />
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Wood ducks are among the most productive egg layers of all the duck species. This evolutionary adaptation occurs because wood ducks experience very high duckling mortality rates. If the first nest fails, the female will attempt up to 2 re-nests to raise a brood.
    Incoming Woody.jpg
  • Three mallard ducks swimming up stream in black and white
    BW Mallard Stream.jpg
  • A Vibrant Wood Duck Swims On A Flash Of Green Water
    Wood Duck Flash.jpg
  • Four Goslings Swimming On The water With Momma Goose Nowhere In Sight
    Baby Geese On The Water.jpg
  • A wood duck swims in a sea of blue as the sun sets and rays illuminate the waterfowl.
    Darkwing Ducky.jpg
  • A goose swims along in waters of blue and gold
    Goosy Gold and Blue.jpg
  • A banded Wood Duck Hen (female) swims ever so gently throught he stream with a display of vibrant plumage.<br />
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The Wood Duck is a medium-sized perching duck. The female, less colourful, has a white eye-ring and a whitish throat. Both adults have crested heads. Females line their nests with feathers and other soft materials, and the elevation provides some protection from predators. Unlike most other ducks, the Wood Duck has sharp claws for perching in trees and can, in southern regions, produce two broods in a single season--the only North American duck that can do so.<br />
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Female Wood Ducks breed during their first year. The breeding season begins in April in the southern portion of the range. In northern areas, Wood Ducks arrive on the breeding ground soon after the ice thaws, usually in early May. There are, however, reports of Wood Ducks in Canada beginning to nest as early as the second week of April.
    Waterfowl Flow.jpg
  • A wood duck swims in green grassy waters. The Wood Duck or Carolina Duck is a species of perching duck found in North America. It is one of the most colorful North American waterfowl.<br />
The population of the Wood Duck was in serious decline in the late 19th century as a result of severe habitat loss and market hunting both for meat and plumage for the ladies' hat market in Europe. By the beginning of the 20th century Wood Ducks had virtually disappeared from much of their former range. In response to the Migratory Bird Treaty established in 1916 and enactment of the Federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918, wood duck populations began to recover slowly. By ending unregulated hunting and taking measures to protect remaining habitat, wood duck populations began to rebound in the 1920s. The development of the artificial nesting box in the 1930s gave an additional boost to Wood Duck production.
    Woody Green Striations.jpg
  • A White Pelican Swims In Turquoise Jeweled Waters At The Saint Louis Zoo
    Pelican in Jeweled Waters.jpg
  • A Dabbling Duck swimming in the shallow waters of one of the blue lakes in New Town - Saint Charles, Missouri
    Dabbling in Blue Waters.jpg
  • Bright afternoon sun basks a baby gosling in the grass
    Sunny Gosling.jpg
  • A gosling pecks in the grass seeking out a meal
    Good Morning Gosling.jpg
  • A Wood Duck Hen Preens Along The Shore of the Lake.<br />
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Wood ducks pair up in late winter and they begin breeding in early spring. The males attract females with their call and attractive, colorful breeding plumage. <br />
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Female wood ducks have grayish-brown bodies. The back is dark gray-brown and the sides are a lighter shade. The most noticeable characteristics of the females are found on the head. The head is gray with a white eye-ring around each eye. The head also has a crest of feathers at the back and white feathers on the throat and chin. <br />
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Wood ducks will 'tip up' and dip their heads under the water to find the standard wetland fare to eat like wild rice, smartweed, pondweed, bulrush, and lotus seeds, but they love to eat "out," of the water that is. They love fruits and nuts found in the woods like beechnuts, wild acorns grapes, and one of their favorites, acorns.
    Preening Wood Duck Hen.jpg
  • A male Wood Duck rocks in the water mimicking a rocking horse, putting on a vibrant show.<br />
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Wood Ducks forage in the water by taking food from the surface and up-ending to reach food underneath. They also graze on land. Pairs form on the wintering grounds, and males attract females by showing off their brightly colored plumage. Females demonstrate strong fidelity to the sites where they hatched (philopatry), and they lead their mates back to those sites in the spring.<br />
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Male Wood Ducks are flamboyant in breeding plumage, practically unmistakable with their brightly colored chestnut and yellow bodies, green droop-crested heads, bright red bills, and bold white barring on their faces and bodies. Females are drabber, with subtle iridescence on overall grayish-brown bodies, spotted flanks, and a white teardrop surrounding each eye. Juveniles appear similar to females, as do non-breeding males in eclipse plumage (from June to September), although they have the red bill and white facial markings.
    Woody Rocking Horse.jpg
  • The Canvasback (Aythya valisineria) is the largest of the North American diving ducks. The adult male (drake) has a black bill, a chestnut red head and neck, a black breast, a grayish back, black rump, and a blackish brown tail. The drake's sides, back, and belly are white with fine vermiculation resembling the weave of a canvas, which gave rise to the bird's common name
    Canvasback Drake.jpg
  • A member of the tribe of 'stiff-tailed ducks', the Ruddy Duck has a spiky tail that it often holds straight up in display. Female ruddy ducks have grayish-brown neck and body plumage. The sides of the head and neck are dull buff-brown with a single dusky horizontal stripe crossing a pale-gray cheek patch. The bill is dark gray and the legs and feet are grayish. Females are relatively silent.
    Adult Female Ruddy Duck.jpg
  • Pterois, commonly known as lionfish, is a genus of venomous marine fish found mostly in the Indo-Pacific. Pterois is characterized by conspicuous warning coloration with red, white, creamy, or black bands, showy pectoral fins and venomous spiky fin rays. Aside from instances of larger lionfish individuals engaging in cannibalism on smaller individuals, adult lionfish have few identified natural predators. This is likely due to the effectiveness of their venomous spines. Lionfish are known for their venomous fin rays, a feature that is uncommon among marine fish in the East Coast coral reefs. The potency of their venom makes them excellent predators and poisonous to fishermen and divers.<br />
<br />
Pterois venom produced negative inotropic and chronotropic effects when tested in both frog and clam hearts and has a depressing effect on rabbit blood pressure. These results are thought to be due to nitric oxide release. In humans, Pterois venom can cause systemic effects such as extreme pain, nausea, vomiting, fever, breathing difficulties, convulsions, dizziness, redness on the affected area, headache, numbness, paresthesia (pins and needles), heartburn, diarrhea, and sweating. Rarely, such stings can cause temporary paralysis of the limbs, heart failure and even death. Fatalities are common in very young children, the elderly, those with a weak immune system or those who are allergic to their venom. Their venom is rarely fatal to healthy humans, but some species have enough venom to produce extreme discomfort for over a period of several days.
    Lionfish.jpg
  • A Wood Duck Wades Through The Water In This Colorful, Calm Scene.
    Woody Waddle.jpg
  • A Vibrant Male Wood Duck Watches Me From Along The Lake Shore
    Wood Duck Watching Me.jpg
  • The Wood Duck or Carolina Duck is a species of duck found in North America. It is one of the most colourful North American waterfowl. Males are iridescent chestnut and green, with ornate patterns on nearly every feather; the elegant females have a distinctive profile and delicate white pattern around the eye. These birds live in wooded swamps, where they nest in holes in trees or in nest boxes put up around lake margins. They are one of the few duck species equipped with strong claws that can grip bark and perch on branches.<br />
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In good light, males have a glossy green head cut with white stripes, a chestnut breast and buffy sides. In low or harsh light, they'll look dark overall with paler sides. Females are gray-brown with white-speckled breast. In eclipse plumage (late summer), males lose their pale sides and bold stripes, but retain their bright eye and bill.<br />
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Wood ducks breed across most of the central and eastern United States, southeastern Canada and along the Pacific coast from California to British Columbia. The highest breeding densities occur in the Mississippi Alluvial Valley. In recent decades, the breeding range has expanded westward into the Great Plains region following development of wooded riparian corridors. Wood ducks prefer riparian habitats, wooded swamps and freshwater marshes.
    Wood Duck Flap.jpg
  • This Hippopotamus Plays A Bit Of Peekaboo Below The Water at the Saint Louis Zoo. The hippopotamus, or hippo, from the ancient Greek for 'river horse', is a large, mostly herbivorous mammal in sub-Saharan Africa, and one of only two extant species in the family Hippopotamidae
    Hippo Under Water.jpg
  • A Mallard Duck Flapping Wings On The Pond
    Mallard - Wing Up.jpg
  • A dog swim in the pond
    Chillin In The Pond.jpg
  • Two Mallard Ducks Swim In The Water
    The Quackerz.jpg
  • A Mallard Duck Swims Through Magical Lights On The Waters With Grace and Beaurty
    Mallard Lights.jpg
  • A colorful Mallard Duck swimming in the lake from behind
    Mallard Colors From Behind.jpg
  • A cool yet wavy reflection of a American White Pelican swimming on a pond at the Saint Louis Zoo.
    Pelican Takes A Swim.jpg
  • The Black Swan (Cygnus atratus) is a large waterbird, a species of swan, which breeds mainly in the southeast and southwest regions of Australia. The species was hunted to extinction in New Zealand, but later reintroduced. Within Australia they are nomadic, with erratic migration patterns dependent upon climatic conditions. Black Swans are large birds with mostly black plumage and red bills. They are monogamous breeders that share incubation duties and cygnet rearing between the sexes.
    Black Swan on Gold.jpg
  • Two dogs play with a toy in the pond.
    Lets Play.jpg
  • A dog running out of the water.
    Run Doggy Run.jpg
  • Females and juveniles are mottled brown with orange-and-brown bills. Both sexes have a white-bordered, blue 'speculum' patch in the wing. Large dabbling duck Streaked brown and tan overall Dark blue patch on wing Dull orange and black bill
    Female Mallard Duck.jpg
  • A dog plays tug of war.
    Tug on Sticks.jpg
  • After enjoying some bread the geese and gosling’s seem happy and just continue to swim around the docks at Maynard's enjoying the beautiful weather.
    contentment.jpg
  • A flock of geese swim across Lake 15 at August A. Busch Memorial Conservation Area in Saint Charles, Missouri
    Geese on Lake 15.jpg
  • A Double-Crested Cormorant casts a shadow against textured peeling paint at the Saint Louis Zoo. The Double-crested Cormorant is a member of the cormorant family of seabirds. It occurs along inland waterways as well as in coastal areas, and is widely distributed across North America. he Double-crested Cormorant is a large waterbird with a stocky body, long neck, medium-sized tail, webbed feet and a medium sized hooked bill.<br />
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Recently the population of Double-crested Cormorants has increased. Some studies have concluded that the recovery was allowed by the decrease of contaminants, particularly the discontinued use of DDT. The population may have also increased because of aquaculture ponds in its southern wintering grounds. The ponds favor good over-winter survival and growth.<br />
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Adult Double-crested Cormorants are black or dark brown and have an orange-yellow patch of skin at the base of their bills. In breeding plumage, adults have two whitish tufts behind their eyes, hence the description 'double-crested.' First-year birds are pale on the upper breast and darker on the belly. Double-crested Cormorants have slender, hook-tipped bills that are often tipped up at an angle as they swim. They can be distinguished from the other two Washington cormorant species by their thicker bills and by the pronounced kink in their long necks in flight.
    Cormorant By Cracked Paint.jpg
  • Tones of gold and orange blanket the shore in this autumn waterscape at Broemmelsiek Park in Wentzville, Missouri.<br />
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Broemmelsiek Park provides a recreational space for individuals throughout the St. Charles County area. This park offers more than seven miles of multi-use trails as well as an off-leash dog area with small water features in which dogs may swim. The trail is open for equestrian use, bicycling and hiking. There are multiple fishing lakes in the park that are stocked with bass, catfish and bluegill. The astronomy station in the park offers a viewing site with ten concrete viewing stations equipped with telescopes. <br />
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Keeping with the county's mission to preserve green space, the St. Charles County Parks Department is designing Broemmelsiek Park as a passive recreation area focused on the natural features of the land. The 384 acre property is located in southwestern St. Charles County five miles west of Highway 40-61 off State Route DD. Broemmelsiek Park features several lakes, a blend of oak-hickory forest and rolling pastures suitable for a variety of recreation activities and park amenities.
    Golden Autumn at Broemmelsiek Park.jpg
  • Another view from the rooftop swimming poo at the Hyatt Regency Orlando International Airport Hotel at sunrise
    Poolside Sunrise 2.jpg
  • These two kissing carps were swimming around the docks at Maynard's Restaurant on Lake Minnetonka in Minnesota.
    fishy_kisses.jpg
  • A pink tulip in front of rippled and flowing water
    Swimming Tulip.jpg
  • A Swan Swims On Black
    Swan Song.jpg
  • A Goose Swims in blue waters casting a geometric reflection
    Goose Symmetry.jpg
  • A Female Bufflehead Duck Swims In Green Waters
    Duckling in Sunlight.jpg
  • This is the best dog park in the area for sure, well at least for the ones that are free. A couple of hours of swimming in the pond and running the perimeter my dogs, (a pit and a boxer), don't move for days
    Dockside at Broemmelsiek Park.jpg
  • Minnesota's state bird, the common loon, is more at home in the water than on land. built like a torpedo, it swims under water in search of prey. Minnesota has more common loons than any other state except Alaska.
    Common Loon 2.jpg
  • This goose and baby goslings are sharing food while swimming around the docks at Maynard’s on Lake Minnetonka.
    geese_food.jpg
  • Sea Lion Sound combines the popular Sea Lion Basin and Sea Lion Show in a 1.5-acre spectacular new exhibit right in the heart of the Zoo. For the first time anywhere in North America, visitors can walk through an underwater tunnel into the sea lions' habitat to see the animals swimming all around them!
    Sea Lion Soaking Up Sun.jpg
  • A goose swimming in purple and blue sunset lighting across lake superior.
    Sunset Goose.jpg