Birds of a different feather

Have you noticed that there don't seem to be as many adult ducks around the marsh lately? It's because at this time of year, they have moulted into their eclipse plumage (the males resembling their female counterparts), and then they started to lose their flight feathers. This means they are not able to fly for a few weeks. In order to stay safe, they lay low, hiding in tall grasses or deeper water.

Yesterday I made my way through the undergrowth alongside the wooded area of the trail, to see if I could find any Wood Ducks in the dead trees near the water's edge. The top photo above I believe is a male in eclipse plumage; the ducks in the bottom photo, I believe are juvenile males.