Photographer Scott Suriano is always hoping for one last snow. In the mercurial transition from winter to spring, he sees a chance to capture an unusual scene for his neck of the woods: Wood Ducks in a flurry of snowflakes. The ducks only return to the pond near his home in northern Maryland in late February or early March, so his window of opportunity each year is brief. Once they’ve arrived, he checks the forecast each night, hoping for inclement weather. On the morning he photographed this female, Suriano woke before dawn to falling snow.
“It was coming down pretty heavy,” he says, “so I thought I’d give it a shot.”
Rather than lying prone on the pond’s edge, which grows uncomfortable, Suriano prefers to get into the water. An icy dip is no problem for Wood Ducks—insulated with fat and down beneath waterproof, oil-coated feathers—but Suriano’s immersive approach requires the right gear. In below-freezing temperatures, he dons midweight waders with room for extra layers underneath that keep him warm and dry.
Equally important is the homemade floating blind he uses to avoid startling the birds.
Equally important is the homemade floating blind he uses to avoid startling the birds, which he fashioned from marine-grade plywood and a cheap foam recreational bodyboard. The setup has a photographic advantage, too: “It allows you to get a really low, surface-level shot.”
Once he’s in the pond, ideally before sunrise, it’s a waiting game. The Wood Ducks fly down to the water from their roosts in the trees, usually swimming in breeding pairs. This female’s flashier mate was likely just out of frame, Suriano says; he opted to give her center stage instead.
To accentuate the ethereal wintry atmosphere, Suriano adjusted his camera settings to produce a bright image with a very thin depth of field, capturing the duck’s subtly hued head in crisp focus while casting most of the falling snowflakes in a dreamy blur. “The subject is the duck,” Suriano says. “But the supporting cast is the environment and the weather.”
This story originally ran in the Winter 2024 issue as “Cold Plunge.” To receive our print magazine, become a member by making a donation today.
