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Friday, March 31, 2023

Ducky Drama

This winter I've been making the rounds to some local nature areas, both to get a little exercise and photograph whatever wildlife I find.  One of the places I frequented often had a flock of wood ducks swimming in the water.  Wood duck males are very photogenic - their heads a brightly colored mix of greens with an orange bill and unusual red eyes.  


"Did you hear the gossip about Quackly?"


On a recent visit, I was lucky enough to see a sizeable flock of these lovely ducks.  Not only were the ducks in abundance, I was also able to capture some of their antics.


"My love, you are the only woman for me"


Pairs of male and female wood ducks swam around together, often posing for my camera.  After downloading and editing a few images, I'm posting them here for you to enjoy, along with a few funny captions.


"And another thing...."


After the argument


"Look at meeee!"


Duck fight!


It was mating season and every once and awhile a couple of males would get into a fight.  I'm assuming it was over a female (no matter the species, men always fight over women!)



Chasing away his challenger

The two males would race around the pond, chasing after each other.  Lots of flapping and splashing ensued.  The ducks were so fast it was difficult to capture photos of the drama.  But I did manage to get a couple of images I liked.


The victorious male

As I was walking back to my car, I spied a great blue heron nearby.  Just as I was focusing on the bird, it spread it's wings and took off.  And lucky me, one of my images captured the moment of liftoff.


We have liftoff!

I hope you enjoy this "ducky" post!


19 comments:

  1. This is my kind of post. I love the Wood Ducks and will take every chance I get to capture their beauty. The Blue Heron is magnificent and you got him at just the right moment.

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  2. Wonderful Woodies!!! And an incredible Heron catch. Well done!!

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  3. Lovely photos and enjoyable captions. We occasionally see Wood Ducks over here, probably escapes from wildfowl collections, but pretty to see even so.

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  4. Beautiful shots of the Wood Ducks and the GB Heron. Have a wonderful weekend.

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  5. Wood ducks are gorgeous! Nice captures!

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  6. ...ducky for sure. Those ducks are gorgeous and you captured them beautifully.

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  7. Very cute and beautiful photos. Love the heron lifting off!

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  8. Your photos are really impressive — so much drama!

    best…mae at maefood.blogspot.com

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  9. Hello Linda,
    Thanks you for linking up your Duck post, your photos are all beautiful.
    Have a wonderful weekend!

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  10. The Wood ducks are so beautiful Linda and your pohtographs of them are lovely Great shot of the Heron in flight. Thanks for all your comments and have a great week ahead.

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  11. A fabulous series of photos. The red eyes are so unusual.

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  12. Absolutely marvellous viewing. It must have been great fun watching them and trying to click shutter at the same time.

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  13. Gorgeous images! What a lovely way to spend time.

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  14. Great duck photos they are such pretty birds!

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  15. That last photo is a work of art! And I love the wood ducks too and they are fun to watch when you have several getting your attention! Enjoy your week!

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  16. Wonderful post! You have mastered bird photography. Oh, I like the captions!

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  17. You're having too much fun! Is that even possible?

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