Bufflehead

I find male Buffleheads difficult to photograph. The extreme contrast between the bright white and dark black feathers can make exposure difficult. Even worse, the black areas on its head have iridescence greens and purple. Always a problem to get right in an image.

The interesting thing is that these features also make them a beautiful duck.
I took these images at Crystal Springs Rhododendron Garden. I was able to get in close, but it was a dreary day which resulted in slow shutter speeds, so many of them turned out blurry. But they are also the best images of Buffleheads I have taken to date.