Week 9 – Wood Duck

I never quite noticed female wood ducks before, but I should have. Maybe it is because the male Wood Duck is so colorful that they consumed my full attention. Or maybe it is because in certain lighting, female wood ducks can appear as drab as female Mallards. However, after observing and following a group of Wood Ducks at the Idaho Fish & Game’s MK Nature Center, I will no longer ignore these beautiful female birds. Female Wood Ducks have iridescent feathers just like their male counterparts, albeit in smaller quantities. It just takes a little bit of sunlight at the right angle to expose their more subtle iridescent nature…

Female and Male Wood Duck. Photograph by Neil Paprocki.

All of the previous 52-week blog photos can be found at the Wild Lens blog or on Flickr.