northeast-flora-and-fauna

Here's 1 of our more common (though somewhat shy) ducks swimming at the Washington Valley Reservoir. Though a male in eclipse plumage looks similar overall to a female Wood Duck , I'm confident this is a female: The eyes don't look red (which a male should have) but there is a white ring around the eyes (which only a female should have). This picture was taken in the spring [1], when I'd expect a male to look more like this in his full breeding plumage. May 1, 2023 at Washington Valley Reservoir Photo 278271098, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC) [1] If you saw a male Wood Duck on this date, he probably would look a bit like a red-eyed female. One tricky things about some birds (especially males) is having to recognize different plumages.

Here are a couple more Wood Ducks . The one on the left appears to be a male with its eclipse plumage , which is far more subdued feathering than you're probably used to seeing in Wood Ducks. The one on the right is more likely a female, though immature Wood Ducks of both genders look similar to mature female Wood Ducks. Anthropomorphizing a bit, seeing them look in opposite directions might make it look like they're a couple who had an argument and are trying not to look at each other. It's possible that they're a romantic couple - Wood Ducks are considered monogamous - though there were other Wood Ducks around too, and they don't start to pair off until more like January. I usually feel at least a little bit lucky when I run across Wood Ducks (more so if I'm able to get a good picture), and seeing a Wood Duck has traditionally been associated with good luck. I suspect though that this was because seeing a Wood Duck meant you might be able to hunt it for both f...

Last autumn I spotted this little flock of Wood Ducks swimming by. For reasons I discuss more here , I suspect there are 3 female and 2 eclipse plumage male ducks here. You can tell it's late summer or early autumn by the dense green covering the water, which gets pretty common around here. I suspect there's too much fertilizer runoff that feeds the growth. Though much of it dies off in the winter, it'll be back next summer. I know many ducks will pair off well before breeding season, but since this was even before winter it's possible the ducks were just being social. Lots of birds like to hang out; there are more eyes to spot predators that way. The brambly/bushy vegetation near or in the water also makes Wood Ducks feel more comfortable; they figure they can hide in it if something threatening (like a guy with a camera) comes along. October 7, 2021 at Duke Farms https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Wood_Duck/overview

Here's a Wood Duck from early August. Normally this is probably our showiest waterfowl; I suspect this one is in its eclipse plumage . Eclipse plumage is a molting phase where the duck looks drabber and less colorful, and it's pretty important. Because ducks molt their flight feathers all at once, they go through a period when they're grounded, and are unable to fly. Imagine if you're one of the most colorful birds on the pond and you suddenly can't fly - to predators, you'd be a sitting duck! To partially compensate for their temporary lack of aerial ability, these ducks become less conspicuous by donning their eclipse plumage. (Mallards do this too, and during eclipse plumage it's very difficult to tell the male and female Mallards apart.) And then when their flight feathers grow back, they molt off these drab colors and regain their flamboyant good looks again. August 5, 2021 at Duke Farms Photo 148952468, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC) ...