Supposedly it is lucky to shoot a pic of a duck with a new lens or camera body...

well i just got my 40D so I decided I wasnt going to tempt fate and went and shot some ducks:

First ever pic with the 40D
Better title for this pic? "Headless Duckman" or "Spartans grab your masks"
"[Hiccup], Follow me...[Hiccup] Hey who put this [hiccup] step here?!?!?"
"Simon says, Stand on one leg and shake your wing"
[Sigh] "I hate paparazzi,...now get them out of here because I don't want my picture taken"
"No wait, I love the paparazzi..Now, TAKE MY PICTURE!!

lookin good. when you shoot with that 100-400, do you typically use a tripod/monopod?

I usually use my Manfrotto 685B NeoTec Monopod but out of those shots only the first white duck was shot using a monopod all the others were hand held

I also have a manfrotto Tripod that is very nice but I find it limiting with how I am shooting right now...usually take time on my lunch or just out taking a walk and the tripod pretty much lends itself to finding a spot and sitting and waiting for the birds to come to you and currently I dont have the patience for that....I will say that the 685B is a bit heavier than many monopods an also much pricier but I absolutely love the way it works...especially for wildlife since there are no locks to be clicking etc it helps to minimize noise which easily scares away most things.

edit: fwiw the last set of eagle pics i posted were shot using my tripod