About the Cover…

All photos courtesy Mike Davis

Mike Davis

There is nothing like hiding along the shore and hearing the whistling wings of a flock of Teal overhead. Hearing that sound keeps me waking up before sunrise, putting on waders, and waiting patiently for the ducks.

September 28, 2025, 8:36 a.m.

Blue-winged Teal—one of my favorite subjects—are the first ducks to arrive each fall. They usually appear on the first full moon in September.

For me Teal are little speedsters—more like fighter planes as they fly.

46 Teal by Mike S. Davis garnered an Award of Excellence in the 2024 Naturescapes Photography Contest. Photo courtesy Mike Davis

From Cornell Lab of Ornithology All About Birds:

“Pairs and small groups of this tiny dabbling duck inhabit shallow ponds and wetlands across much of North America. Blue-winged Teal are long distance migrants, with some birds heading all the way to South America for the winter. Therefore, they take off early on spring and fall migration, leaving their breeding grounds in the United States and Canada well before other species in the fall.”

And find an image of the Blue-Winged Teal Audubon Color Plate 313 here, along with other photos and information about Blue-Winged Teal.