Something New about Wood Ducks

I remember where I saw my very first wood duck.  It was almost five years ago in Prescott, in Watson Woods, on the pond that's surrounded by a restored riparian preserve.  Ever since, I've never tired of pausing to observe and photograph one of these beautiful birds, whether it's wintering on one of Phoenix's urban canals or on display in an indoor Las Vegas aviary. 

I didn't think I had anything more to say about the wood duck: the male is brilliantly colorful, the female plain; they don't breed in Arizona, but they migrate here during the cold seasons.  However I just discovered a new detail about them, and it was on the exact spot I saw my first ones all those years ago.

Watson Woods and adjacent Watson Lake are always full of surprises, whether it's the variable amount of water flowing through Granite Creek or the variety of migratory birds visiting for the summer or over winter.  In fact, it was far-traveling grosbeaks and tanagers I was hoping to see on my recent visit.  While I did identify what appeared to be a juvenile summer or hepatic tanager, it was the flock of wood ducks that stole the show.

They were initially gathered on a tree branch overhanging the pond, bodies over a hundred feet away, hidden in shadows - I saw their shapes more than their markings.  Initially I wasn't sure they were wood ducks at all, a confusion that gave me my latest lesson on the species. 

Since I didn't think wood ducks bred in Arizona, it was logical that I had never encountered a chick or juvenile before.  Well it turns out that the area might actually host breeding populations, both here and also along the nearby Verde River.  So some of the ducks I was watching were juveniles, raised on the pond at Watson Woods.  They were dully colored, like females, but without the hen's exotic white teardrop around the eye.  

However other birds in the group still looked different from the females and juveniles, plainly colored but with the bright red eyes and red bills of male wood ducks.  However the ducks lacked the bright green head feathers and crisp black and white facial lines, not to mention chestnut bodies: flashy details that make the male my favorite bird on water.

I managed to get a dozen photographs from several spots, even approaching within about forty feet.  Back home, examining the shots and reading more about wood ducks, I discovered that I had witnessed something brand new for me: eclipse males.  

These individuals had already mated, and molted their bright plumage in favor of the duller grays I was observing.  This temporary change makes the males less noticeable to predators, and as it turns out, to novice birders like myself.  In several months, they'll molt again and begin sporting the attractive feathers that make them not only irresistible to their mates, but also recognizable and exceptional to me.

At least three eclipse male wood ducks in a row, with a female above and a juvenile to right, at the pond in Watson Woods.

Juvenile wood duck at the pond in Watson Woods. 

Male wood duck, center, appearing to sport something closer to full breeding plumage at the pond in Watson Woods.

Juvenile wood duck on the pond at Watson Woods.