I don’t see Ring-necked Ducks (Aythya collaris) very often, so I was happy to spot this little group of them last week at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. Although this looks like a ménage à trois situation with a male duck in the middle of two females, there actually was another male who was out of the frame when I took this photo. Ring-necked Ducks are a migratory species that overwinters with us and I suspect that these ducks will soon be leaving our area for more northern locations.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
Oh I am so excited for the return of the ducks. Our local pond is still frozen so it may be a few weeks yet.
We have open water throughout all (or most) of the winter, so some migratory ducks spend their winters with us. Here in Virginia we are kind of at a midpoint between the North and the South in the US, so we have a pretty good variety of species of birds, insects, etc.
Very nice capture of this trio, Mike. The male’s head is just gorgeous.
I love the coloration of the male Ring-necked Duck, though I often argue that a better name would be “ring-billed duck”–the ring around the neck is only rarely visible.
Very nice Mike! Enjoyed seeing your Ring-necked Ducks image!
I agree with your ‘better name.” 🙂
It’s fun to make up names for creatures–it is a mystery to me sometimes how they come up with the “official” names.