Wood ducks at the Reifel Bird Sanctuary

I have always loved the crazy colours and patterns displayed by the male Wood duck (Aix sponsa).  They have been somewhat elusive in the areas I am typically out photographing wildlife.  When I was at the George C. Reifel Migratory Bird Sanctuary a couple of weeks ago, I came across a raft of them paddling around a chain of small ponds sheltered by overhanging branches above and reeds behind.

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The ripples in the water and the distorted reflections served as a chaotic yet still suitable background to photograph these beautiful birds.  I stopped and enjoyed almost an hour of watching these fellows swim, waddle and chase one another as well as their better halves.  The weather picked a great time to cloud over and the diffused, even light allowed those colours and the textures in the feathers to own the stage in several of the images.

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One of the last ones I photographed before moving on caught my eye as it hopped out of the water onto a log jutting out of the water.  After shaking himself off, he cocked his head and fixed me with this one-eyed stare.  The stare, his body posture along with the tail feathers slightly askew suggested a bit of a character and he was a fitting model to finish this duck encounter with.