Wood Ducks (Aix sponsa), especially the males, are probably the coolest-looking ducks, but in the past few months the only ones that I have seen have been flying away from me, generally from branches on which they were perched.
I was not really expecting that I would see any Wood Ducks on the ground when I approached a tiny pond earlier this week. However, I did notice a little movement at the water’s edge and had just focused on that area, when suddenly a pair of wood ducks took off. I snapped off a few shots, not really expecting that they would be in focus and was pleasantly surprised at the result
The ducks in this image ended up pretty much in focus, especially the male’s head, his most prominent and colorful feature. The wings have some motion blur, but it’s not too distracting.
I’d like to say that my focusing skills are getting better, but I know that this shot was primarily the result of luck. It doesn’t really matter that much how I got the shot—what matters more to me is that I like the result.
Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved
Mike Powell 
They are amazing, great photo.
Thanks, Charlie.
Excellent.
That’s a great success. Beautiful head shot of the male!
Thanks. I hadn’t really seen the ducks when I took the shot. I saw a little bit of movement and had focused when they took off and I tripped the shutter. I was amazed to see the male’s head in focus afterwards.