Yesterday I watched and waited as a female Wood Duck (Aix sponsa), perched on top of a nesting box at my local marsh park, decided when it was the right moment to enter into the box and work on her nest.
Initially I was surprised when I spotted the duck atop this particular nesting box, because Hooded Merganser babies had exited from the box only a week earlier. The female moved around a bit on top of the box, looking in both directions (second photo). Eventually she bent her head lower and lower, as if checking to see that the entrance to the box was clear (third and fourth photos.
When she finally did take off, she flew a little to one side (fifth photo) and made a tight little circle in the air. In the final shot, you can see the female duck with her eyes on the target, approaching it from just below the level of the bottom of the nesting box.
I led with the shot that I like the most. I am amazed that the duck can synchronize her movements so well and arrest her forward momentum to keep from banging into the back of the box (and to keep her wings from getting stuck). The lighting kept changing as waited for the action to develop, to the point that I moved into manual mode, something that I only rarely do. I am happy that the sun was shining at the moment when she entered the box, because I think the shadow adds to the interest of the photo.
I missed seeing the Hooded Merganser duckings leaving the box—maybe I will be luckier with these Wood Ducks.






Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved
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