Goldeneyes in the Snow

I went to the Skokie Lagoons several times during winter break to photograph 

waterfowl, and each attempt at photographing goldeneyes--one of the few interesting 

winter birds--proved more unsuccessful than the next. Every time, as I meandered 

closer to the water, the flock would notice me and, alarmed, would rocket out of the 

Lagoon. After one such instance, I hid behind a tree and waited for several minutes 

until four goldeneyes circled back. It was snowing, and as the waterfowl drifted along

 the sheet of ice I captured a few shots of the picturesque scene.

Goldeneyes are neat birds. They look more uniquely designed than any other animal

 I've seen at the Lagoons and fit nicely into the sleepy and snowy winter landscape.

 They are very frustrating to photograph, though; which is an issue. Telephoto lenses

 that are above 300mm are pretty expensive and useless beyond bird photography, so

 there really isn't any lucrative method of photographing birds beyond sneaking up on them.

Taken in December 2012

Glencoe