Walking home from the post office on the 12th, I spotted a greyish lump of a bird in the river, one I didn't recognize...not a merganser, and it didn't seem to be a mallard either. I came back with a handheld telephoto lens, took a few pictures and went, What is that??? Returned with the tripod-mounted 'scope & camera and took a lot more pictures. Click above to see this duck posing for the camera like a professional fashion model.
Searching the net, I eventually learned that this is a male Wood Duck, probably one born this year and not yet grown in to its extremely distinctive adult coloration. Our neighborhood bird expert pointed out that it could be an older male in post-molt "eclipse plumage," but between the not-red bill, the white breast feathers and its non-stretched-out appearance, I bet it's a youngster. I haven't seen this fellow since taking the pictures—as with the goldeneye I spotted last spring, young males seem to find the river, check it out for a day, and then leave it to the mallards and mergansers.
