A handsome mate

Yesterday afternoon, 4 May 2016, I had a volunteer shift and then thought I might call in at the Reader Rock Garden. Changed my mind when I discovered that new road construction was taking place at the very first corner I was going to take, so I couldn't turn right. Instead, I called in at Fish Creek Park to check on the family of Great Horned Owls. Only saw one of the two owlets and there was no activity at all while I was there - a friend did see both after I left. Isn't that always the way, lol?

I so rarely get photos of Wood Ducks, as when I do see one, it is almost always way off in the distance. Yesterday, however, I was lucky enough to see a pair of them, as well as a pair of American Wigeon, all close enough to photograph.

"The Wood Duck is one of the most stunningly pretty of all waterfowl. Males are iridescent chestnut and green, with ornate patterns on nearly every feather; the elegant females have a distinctive profile and delicate white pattern around the eye. These birds live in wooded swamps, where they nest in holes in trees or in nest boxes put up around lake margins. They are one of the few duck species equipped with strong claws that can grip bark and perch on branches." From AllABoutBirds.

www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Wood_Duck/id

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wood_duck