Copyright ©2021 Deborah M. Zajac. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
A couple of week ago I discovered a new park with a pond not far from home and this beautiful male Wood Duck was there among the mallards and geese.
I heard there was a female there too but, I never saw her. She too is quite striking and pretty. Here’s an image I made last year along the river of a female Wood Duck checking out a tree for a nesting spot I thought as they nest in holes in trees or if available a nesting box. They have claws that can grip bark so they can perch on branches.
The Wood Duck is one of the prettiest ducks of all the waterfowl.
Fun facts:
- Natural cavities for nesting are scarce, and the Wood Duck readily uses nest boxes provided for it. If nest boxes are placed too close together, many females lay eggs in the nests of other females.
- Wood Ducks pair up in January, and most birds arriving at the breeding grounds in the spring are already paired. The Wood Duck is the only North American duck that regularly produces two broods in one year.
- The Wood Duck nests in trees near water, sometimes directly over water, but other times over a mile away. After hatching, the ducklings jump down from the nest tree and make their way to water. The mother calls them to her, but does not help them in any way. The ducklings may jump from heights of over 50 feet without injury.
- The oldest recorded Wood Duck was a male and at least 22 years, 6 months old. He had been banded in Oregon and was found in California.
We got a good snow dump during the night and early morning hours on Tuesday. It made everything so pretty! As I write this (Thursday) we’re supposed to get more snow today. #1 Grandson will be celebrating his 9th year on this planet next week. I hope we can get over the mountains to see him to help him celebrate. 9 years old! Time is flying by.
What are you doing this week-end, anything good? Have you finished your holiday shopping?
Fuji X-T3| Fujinon 100-400mm| PS CC 23.0.0
more to come…
Circadianreflections Blog 
These are downright beautiful
Isn’t he wonderful! Thank you so much, Robert!
Great sightings and captures! Getting a wood duck photograph as awesome as this is quite a ‘feather in your cap’! 😀
Thank you so much, Denise!! He was a delightful and beautiful sighting.
Nice Captures and I agree the Wood ducks are absolutely beautiful birds!
Thank you so much, John!! They are beautiful aren’t they.
What a beautiful photo of the wood duck!
Men should dress like that male wood duck.
😀 They should!
Absolutely stunning capture of the male, Deborah, WOW! I’ve photographed this duck but never have I gotten a shot as gorgeous as yours. The mirror waters is such an awesome added bonus! Yay, snow covering, it does always look so pretty when it is fresh. I hope your plans to go to celebrate your grandson’s birthday next week aren’t thwarted with it, though. This weekend for me is grandsons’ weekend! We picked up grandsons #1 and #2 noonish yesterday for them to spend the weekend with us for our Christmas magic and fun before the big day. Grandson #3 comes tomorrow morning early to join in tomorrow’s fun. Right now, #1 and #2 are on their tablets, lol, while I try to catch up on email and a few blogs. hehehe 😉
Thank you so much, Donna! That’s high praise coming from you I’ll float for the whole day on your compliment!
How wonderful that you are having some time with your Grandsons!! I hope you have a wonderful visit and a Merry Christmas! 🥰
They all left late Sunday and I am still recuperating! LMAO Oh, but boy did we all have fun and make wonderful messes that I didn’t even mind cleaning up. Grandchildren are the best. 🥰 Have fun at yours’ birthday party and visit this week!
Grandchildren are the best! It sounds like you all had the best time!! Thank you so much, Donna! 🎄😀
I do like your handsome feathered friends. I’m sewing this weekend trying to finish a lap quilt. Then I have a machine embroidery project. I will need good luck to finish them both.
You know I’m rooting for you to finish your projects and sending you good luck for those spots that are a bit tricky to get through!
Thank you so much, Judy! 🥰
The wood ducks left our area in November. A pleasure to see them once again! Wonderful photos, Deborah!
Thank you so much, Belinda!! I’m glad they flew my way on their way to a warmer climate for Winter.
Beautiful duck! Wishing you a happy reunion with your people and serene snowy moments.
Thank you so much, Manja! I hope you have a lovely Christmas week as well!
Your wood duck photo is fabulous, Deborah. I liked the facts about wood duck too. I hope you get to go to the party. Have a great weekend.
Thank you so much, John! We made it it was fun!
A fabulous capture, Deborah! The colours of water add vibrancy and a great background for the Wood Duck. Vancouver has a snow storm warning now, so everyone with a cell phone will be out taking photos before it melts away. All the very best of this festive season to you and yours.
Thank you so much, Rebecca!! I wish you all the best that the season has to offer as well! Enjoy the snow while it’s clean, and fresh, and magical! 😀
Your male wood duck is just so beautiful Deborah !
Isn’t he lovely! Thank you so much, Ashley!
Gorgeous photos. I didn’t know anything about Wood Ducks but two broods in one year? My goodness, they are busy little duckies. 😁
Aren’t they! And the chicks jump as far as 50ft to get to the water!! They are brave as well as beautiful! Thank you so much, Ally!
What a gorgeous duck! If I were a girl duck, I’d definitely think he’s a hottie!
LOL! Me too!! Thank you so much, Janis.
Such a cool photo! I love that first one!
Thank you so much, Melanie!
That is a really beautiful duck!
Thank you very much, Brian! They aren’t they!
Gorgeous photo of a pretty boy! Thank you for this post; I had no idea ducks could have claws!
Thank you so much, Cindy! I often forget this fact about Wood Ducks myself! 😀
Fantastic pictures!
Thank you so much, Pit!
Oh, I love ducks in general and wood ducks are supreme! I so seldom see them so this is a treat. I notice there is a wood duck box at the shore of the lake we now live by, so fingers crossed!
Shopping done, now for the greenery and flowers!
I hope a pair of Wood Ducks finds that nesting box!! They should start pairing up soon. I need to go back to the pond and see if the Wood Duck is still there or if they were just passing through. It’s sunny today or supposed to be so, today is the day to do that.
You’re ahead of the game with your shopping done! I only have my Mom and Step-Dad left to shop for and I’m stuck on indecision with that. I hope an idea comes to me soon or I’ll miss the shipping date to get it there on time!
Do they have a favorite cause? Maybe they’d like a donation to that cause. I’m glad you got some snow. I agree, it is pretty. Here we have been warm and snow-free, a condition I am very happy with! 🙂
I don’t know about a charity! I’ll ask my Mom.
I imagine you are enjoying a mild winter so far. 😀
It is amazing~I go out barefoot in the morning to take the puppy out. This morning the ground is chilly and the air is warm so mists are rising from the lake. Love it.
It sounds lovely! Pics!! I want to see your view and lake! 😂
:). I’ve tried to figure out how to do that here in the comments and can’t seem to, so I’ll have to share some in a post one of these days.
I think you have to link to post, pic, or video already uploaded somewhere. Yes, please share!! I’d love to see your new area through your viewfinder and paintings. 😀
Beautiful
Thank you so much, Saania! He’s a beauty isn’t he.
That is a beautiful photo (and subject(. I still can’t believe #1 grandson is 9. That’s impossible. Enjoy the snow, but I hope enough gets cleared for you to make it over the mountains and through the woods.
Thank you so much, Dan! Haha! Now I’m singing in my head, “over the mountains and through the woods to Grandson’s house we go!!!”. We hardly got any snow yesterday and the forecast looks partly cloudy and sunny for a few days so, we should be able to get there for the party and get home again.
😊