Ruddy Ducks (Oxyura jamaicensis) are one the many duck species that overwinter in the Northern Virginia area where I live. The males are pretty easy to identify, even from a distance, because of the bright white patch on the sides of their heads. I spotted this one on Tuesday as he was shaking himself dry after a plunge in the waters off of Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge.
Unfortunately they do not breed in our area—I would love to see the brilliant plumage of the breeding males. The Cornell Lab of Ornithology notes that, “Breeding males are almost cartoonishly bold, with a sky-blue bill, shining white cheek patch, and gleaming chestnut body.” Wow!
It is so much fun to read the “Cool Facts” section that is part of the description of each bird on the Cornell Lab of Ornithology website. I love this description of the Ruddy Duck:
—The bright colors and odd behavior of male Ruddy Ducks drew attention from early naturalists, though they didn’t pull any punches. One 1926 account states, “Its intimate habits, its stupidity, its curious nesting customs and ludicrous courtship performance place it in a niche by itself…. Everything about this bird is interesting to the naturalist, but almost nothing about it is interesting to the sportsman.”
As you can see from the three shots below, I played around with the cropping of the images. They were all part of the same sequence, so initially the framing was similar for all three. I am not sure that any one of the three crops jumps out as “better,” but I really enjoy the process of considering options and thought that some of you would enjoy getting this little peek behind the curtains of my mental processes when working on an image.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
We used to have these pretty ducks over here. Unfortunately they were found to cross-breed with the rare White headed duck found in Spain so sadly they were culled.
I had read that they had been introduced into Europe but did not know that they had created the problem that you described. Here in the US, many people do not like the so-called invasive species, like the startling and the house sparrow, but they are so well established that there is nothing that can be done about them, even if someone wanted to control them. I know that some locations, like New Zealand, are super sensitive about invasive species.
Nice Mike! I used to see a lot of them where I used to live. They were fun to watch & photograph. But have not seen any where I live now.
I so enjoyed these action shots of the ruddy ducks, Mike. I espec. like that third one with the additional duck in the background. You are right to be wondering about the breeding ruddy, because they are simply spectacular in their breeding plumage. And how lucky we are to have Cornell….
I don’t think I have ever seen one. Nice catch. Every time I spot some Shovelers I look close to be sure they are not Ruddy Ducks.
At this time of the year the ducks seem to arrive in mixed flocks and I try to look carefully at individual when I spot a group of ducks.
Ducks in the marshes stay a far distance from people. The swamps typically have only Teals and Wood Ducks.
Great shots. I love that ruddy duck.
Thanks, Tricia.
I expected to see reddish tints when I heard the name Ruddy. I like photo #1 the best.
I guess that from certain angles or in certain lights they look redder, but I can’t say that I have ever seen them that way.