September isn’t officially Wood Duck month, as far as I know. This September was the month when I finally got some clear images of both male and female Wood Ducks, however, so it counts for me! I have been fascinated by Wood Ducks since I saw one challenge a couple of Mallards at the Inglewood Irrigation Canal in 2016. The colours on these birds are amazing.
Since then, any Wood Ducks I have come across have been too far away to get a good image. Finally, this fall at Carburn Park, I got some co-operation from a female Wood Duck and what I believe was a male Wood Duck in eclipse. This (I assume) means that it had lost some of the clear markings that go with the breeding season. It happens starting in late August. I believe it was a male because of the red eye. So I was part way there. I just needed a photo of the mature male and his distinctive head-dress. I told this to another member of the birding group who told me that there are “always” Wood Ducks at the Inglewood Bird Sanctuary.
Now, I have been to the bird sanctuary several times without ever seeing a Wood Duck, so I was sceptical, but I went at the end of the month and what was the first thing I saw? A flock of you-know-whats! Of course, they immediately did what any sensible duck does when a human is pointing a long cylindrical object at it – they swam away. They stayed in the pond, though, so eventually I got a few images that show them off well. The group shot shows males, males in eclipse and females.
Unlike the ducks, Great Blue Herons tend to just stay where they are and ignore people. I saw one at Carburn Park and another at Inglewood. The one at Inglewood just stood like a statue on the bank while an excited group of Beavers (the human variety) tore past it on the pathway above. It was probably just as well they missed each other.
That’s it for the larger birds. As far as the little birds are concerned, I finally learned the colour difference between the male and female White-breasted Nuthatch. Until I saw them close together, I didn’t really catch the difference in the colour on the head. Well, now I know.
I also saw new little bird this month, the Ruby-crowned Kinglet. It is one of those tiny birds that never seems to stay still so I didn’t get an image that shows the ruby-coloured patch on its head. I promise, it’s there.
