After several trips to watch the wood ducks I finally caught them in the light. They've been hugging the edges of the water, feeding on acorns dropped by the birds and the squirrels. Not an easy duck to photograph at the best of times these have been almost buried in the shadows. When this fellow finally crossed into the light he did a full stretch, flapped his wings and you could almost feel him revel in the few rays of sunshine....me, I was snapping the shutter like mad!

Wood Duck facts: One of the most beautiful of American waterfowl, the Wood Duck was hunted so heavily that it was nearly extinct 100 years ago. It was made illegal to hunt this duck in the early 20th century, and the population began to climb. Today there are well over a million Wood Ducks in North America. Now the main threat to this species is snapping turtles, which snatch and gobble up the young. ~ All About Birds

To see more of our waterfowl images click HERE