Until yesterday, I hadn't seen any of the wood ducks for a couple of weeks. I even checked the sewage lagoon where a pair remained into November last year. But yesterday I got a glimpse of at least one drake, and this morning I spied several of the ducks, including these two males. They are now in their full breeding plumage, and present the sleek appearance that we associate with these birds.
I had to check out the wood ducks on Saturday, and sure enough, there were a number of them roosting in the dead trees and swimming about among them. The male in the tree is molting out of his eclipse plumage into his full colours. The bird at the bottom is a female wood duck, who is also molting, but the change isn't as noticeable.
There were several of the wood ducks roosting in or busily feeding in the water around the snags at the marsh this morning. The three with red eyes are the males, with a female at the right.
I realized I haven't posted many pics of waterfowl lately. There are still many ducks on the marsh, but in most cases too far out on the water to get decent shots of. Except for the wood ducks who still seem to congregate in among the dead trees near the wood duck nesting boxes. I was able to get a shot of this adult male yesterday before he jumped down and swam away.
The marsh is looking more populated with ducks these days as the young are getting larger, some now nearly as big as their parents. However, they seem to congregate far from shore, making it difficult to get decent shots of them. This morning I was lucky to find a few juvenile wood ducks feeding in the duckweed fairly close to shore. This photo (shot through the tall grass) shows two of them, a young male in front, with a young female behind.
I've been wondering where the male adult wood ducks have been hiding. I know at this time of the summer that the males look for a sheltered spot while they molt into their eclipse plumage, during part of which time they're unable to fly. Well, today I found them. They were close to the shore at the edge of the forested section of the trail, hidden from sight by the tall grasses. I startled them when I approached, and ten swam out into open water, two of which are shown here. They certainly don't look like their dapper selves.
One of the several wood duck families happened to be close enough to the shore to get a decent shot this morning. Apparently woodies have the largest eyes of any waterfowl, enabling them to see well in low-light conditions. Maybe that's one reason why it's so hard to sneak up on them when they're hiding out in the dead trees.
This family of wood ducks was fairly close to the shore when I spotted it this morning, so I was able to get a decent shot. "Mom" heard me before I saw them, and began calling to her brood. There are at least three wood duck families at the marsh this season.
Compared to the last couple of years, there seem to be fewer waterfowl present at the marsh. I don't know what the reason is; I think in part it may be due to the disappearance of several of the so-called loafing bars, or places for the birds to rest in between feeding times. High water levels this spring and last, wave action and constant usage probably caused their breakdown. At any rate, it seems these days that to get shots of the birds requires time and effort hunting for ones close enough to shore to photograph.
These two wood duck drakes I found perched in the dead trees just off the wooded section of the trail on Friday. This is where the males typically hang out, from the end of breeding season until fall when they have molted back into their breeding plumage.
With a little finagling this morning I managed to get this shot of three of the 20 or so male wood ducks that have been hiding out among the dead trees at the marsh's edge recently. It's very difficult to get close enough for a shot, as the slightest movement or sound will send them flying off. They will shortly begin to molt into their summer plumage.
I think this is a different family of wood ducks than the one I posted yesterday. The chicks appear to be a little smaller, and can't be very old. And look, they've lined up behind 'Mom', disproving my statement that wood duck chicks didn't do that. I'm fairly certain that behaviour won't last long, however.
I finally was able to get a shot of the wood duck family yesterday, although I had to work to get it. So far, they have been keeping fairly close to the area where the nesting boxes are. There are ten chicks in this brood. They definitely don't form up in a line behind mom like the young of other duck species do, but move around quite independently of one another.
I checked the sewage lagoon again this morning to see what ducks might be hanging out there. To my surprise, there were a pair of the wood ducks, plus a single male. I expected the female would be nesting by now, unless she is a yearling. Apparently the yearlings nest later than the adult females.
I'm a little confused with what's going on with the wood ducks at the marsh. I keep seeing two pairs, including this pair who were resting on one of the berms in the marsh yesterday. About two weeks ago, I found a whole group of them, mostly males, swimming around a couple of females, but no sign of that group since. Apparently the two resident pair aren't in nesting mode as of yet...
The water at the marsh was very choppy this morning, from the strong wind. The buffleheads were bobbing about like corks, but many of the other waterfowl were keeping closer to shore or laying low. The wood duck pair had found a fallen tree to sit and preen their feathers on. I guess the female still isn't ready to begin nesting.
I thought I'd check out the sewage lagoon this morning after I saw a pair of Canada geese fly in that direction. I didn't see the geese when I climbed the hill, but I did see a pair of birds on the grassy verge at the end of the lagoon. When I took a closer look through my binoculars, I discovered it was a pair of wood ducks, likely the same pair I saw in the marsh yesterday. This is the first time that I have seen these birds on land, although I know that they do forage in wooded areas (apparently they love acorns).
There were three wood ducks on the marsh this morning, including this pair (there was another male as well). I expect it won't be long before the female settles into one of the nesting boxes.
Within the past week, twice I have seen wood ducks on the sewage lagoon next to the marsh. This morning as I was walking the trail I saw a male wood duck fly into the marsh, from the direction of the lagoon, the first I've seen on the marsh this year. He is now in his full breeding plumage. Come summer after he moults he will look much different.
I snapped some shots of the ducks on the sewage lagoon this morning, and was pleased to note, when I zoomed in on a shot, that there was a pair of Wood Ducks among the Buffleheads and Black Ducks. I expect they are newly arrived from their wintering grounds. Woodies usually pair off before migration, with the females returning to their old nesting grounds, followed closely by their new mates.
I wasn't sure I was going to find any Wood Ducks at the marsh yesterday, but I did - the pair were way at the far end of the sewage lagoon, standing on one of the pipes. It's probably the pair I saw on the marsh the day before. I saw the male on the marsh today, but no sign of the female.
