Female Wood Duck

blackstar

Senior Member
That is a surprising and marvelous duck, Dawg. Let me cut in and show off some:

Tree-leaf bird (found in Taiwan)
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Zebra-face geese (migrating through Taiwan)
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hark

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Definitely interesting, Dawg Pics. I know we have Wood Ducks in our area but haven't seen any myself. I wouldn't have expected they'd nest in a tree though.
 

Dawg Pics

Senior Member
@blackstar Those are both cool and new to me. Thanks for posting them.
@hark I never knew that either. I will be going to visit my family in La. My brother lives on a river near some swamp land. He has Wood Ducks, Egrets, Roseate Spoonbills and other water birds and lots of turtles, snakes and other critters.
I will be hauling the 600mm with me, and plan on going out on the boat. I will be looking for Wood Ducks.....up in the trees. ;)
 

Marilynne

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Usually when I see the wood ducks, they're in a canal. I've seen the male in a tree several times. I've never seen their nest though.
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They both like this log
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Dawg Pics

Senior Member
@Marilynne Those are nice. I have seen lots of images of males, but I don't think I would have recognized a female if I saw it alone. The image of that duck clinging to the side of the tree is what really surprised me. I looked up their nesting information, and I will be out on the river right in the middle of their nesting season, so maybe I will get lucky and spot one.
 

wev

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There used to be wood duck nesting boxes at my local lake, but they were taken over by starlings and the few woods went elsewhere. I think I've seen three loners there over the last 5 years
 

wev

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@wev Ha Ha. I knew about the Starlings, but not the House Sparrows. Stupid Eugene Schieffelin, indeed.

Apparently, the sparrows were his way of getting rid of the bugs eating up the imported English flowers in his garden. The introduction of non-natives to 'brighten the drab landscape and give a sense of the old world' was a thing with his set -- all with the best scientific justification, of course.
 

hark

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I know, it makes me want to put a nesting box by my brother's pier, so I can stalk them and get images.

That would be fun to photograph if any boats don't scare them away. I have no idea how they live or how much noise or activity they tolerate near their nests.

I've often thought about getting a screech owl box for the same reason. Amazon has some for sale - but I'd check with local garden centers first to see if they have any. The thing is sparrows take over any bird houses. I have several of the blue bird houses that are tall and slender. Every one of them has a sparrow's nest in it making me strongly believe they'd take over a screech owl box.
 

BackdoorArts

Senior Member
Back in 2012 I would take the camera into the woods every morning (should do that again) and I saw movement high in the trees. When I pointed the lens at it I was floored. I knew they were called "Wood Ducks" but I never expected to see them 30-40' up.

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Which reminds me - I should really go back and reprocess some of these.
 

hark

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Back in 2012 I would take the camera into the woods every morning (should do that again) and I saw movement high in the trees. When I pointed the lens at it I was floored. I knew they were called "Wood Ducks" but I never expected to see them 30-40' up.

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View attachment 355768

Which reminds me - I should really go back and reprocess some of these.

I always thought wood ducks had odd shaped heads - never would have guessed this was a wood duck.

Would you believe I had to do a forum search to find out what lens you used for this photo? How did I not know you had a 150-500mm lens? :confused: How would you rate it compared with your Sport and PF lenses?
 

BackdoorArts

Senior Member
I always thought wood ducks had odd shaped heads - never would have guessed this was a wood duck.

Would you believe I had to do a forum search to find out what lens you used for this photo? How did I not know you had a 150-500mm lens? :confused: How would you rate it compared with your Sport and PF lenses?

Like Cardinals and Blue Jays, Wood Ducks have crests that they can raise and lower (you can see it on the female). Generally they'll only be displayed in the water.

I shot with the 150-500mm for years until the 150-600mm came out. How would I rate them? You get what you pay for, I'll put it that way. The 150-500mm is gone, the 150-600mm is for sale and the 500mm ain't going nowhere.
 
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