Today was a watershed moment. I finally managed to photograph a mated pair of wood ducks (Aix sponsa) at the Great Woods National Wild Life Refuge – so spectacular in coloration and plumage. We’ll make it a birthday present for the reader whose birthday is today! Happy Birthday, L!

All of these ducks, I find are very difficult to photograph. They always appear to be shy and “keep their social distance.” In this particular case I had walked three miles and was headed back to my car when they appeared right in front of me. I waited for them to turn so that I could see their flanks. The image is a bit contrasty and darkly lit, but I am pretty happy with it.

Wood ducks as their name implies are different from most ducks in that they make their nests in trees, yet are nervous about flying through the woods. As in this case they like to frequent reeded marshlands.

Canon T2i with EF 100-400 f/4.5-5.6 L IS USM lens at 320 mm, ISO 1600, Aperture Priority AE mode 1/4000th sec at f/6.3 with no exposure compensation.