Mr. Molting Wood Duck got a bit startled by Miss Mallard who was most definitely going to preen on her favourite rock. He moved over and gave her some space but she insisted he get off completely.
The water nearby was quite shallow, so he decided to hang out there instead. And, since he was now a bit closer to me, I got a better picture! You can see some pin feathers where some of his wing feathers haven’t grown in yet. I had a bit of trouble imagining which feathers were missing so I looked at many, many Wood Duck images on the interwebs. The second picture on this page (bird photography by J R Compton) cleared things up for me.
Mr. M.W.D. before his rock peace was disturbed.
I like the little story with the picture.
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Thank you :-). Every day there is a new duck story at the lake.
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Love this with your narration! Beautiful birds! Very cool. Thanks for sharing it. 💜
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Thank you :-)! I’m currently super interested in the molting male ducks and their feather transformation. Miss Mallard added a bit of drama to my molting Wood Duck photographs. Maybe she wanted to be in a picture too!
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Apparently lol. :))
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🙂
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I think perhaps peace is often rocky and short-lived 🙂 I love these photos.
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Well said :-D! I think the Wood Duck was feeling a little extra vulnerable because he can’t fly for a few weeks. I’m glad you love the photos; you inspired me to edit and share them.
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You have inspired me, too!
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Mallards are so pushy! 😀 Great photo of the molting Wood Duck!
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Thanks :-)! Do you have a pushy Mallard story? Or maybe many???
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LOL! I was actually thinking of the Robert McCloskey story “Make Way for Ducklings.” 😀 It’s one of my favorite books! But Mallards can be brash. I suppose that’s why they’re ubiquitous?
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Looks like an acclaimed book. I’ll have to check it out some time. I like the size of the Mrs. Mallard statue in Boston’s Public Garden!
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As you probably know, the statue of Mrs. Mallard is the same character in Make Way For Ducklings! 😀
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Cute little photo story. The Wood Duck sure looks different in his molting stage.
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Thanks :-). I like bird stories. It looks like you see a lot of them in your own backyard.
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She reminded me of a Mallard that used to come by our garden. That girl pecked me too.
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Oh my! What issue did she have with you?
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LOL! That’s funny! That second image is wonderful! I love the coloring of Wood Ducks. I haven’t seen any this year. 😦 I went looking for them in a spot I know they live in, but they weren’t there. I was too early …or too late. Next year I hope to your kinda luck and see them! 🙂
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Thank you :-). I hope you get to see and photograph Wood Ducks next year. I admire your photography skills.
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Oh my thank you so much for that lovely comment!
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You’re very welcome :-). Thanks for posting beautiful photographs.
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