The Wood Duck is one of the most colorful birds in this area. I had the opportunity to photograph this colorful creature while practicing my bird photography on Lady Bird Lake (aka Town Lake) near downtown Austin. The waters were calm but not perfectly calm so I could not got a good reflection of him in the water. I guess I’ll have to go back another day to see if I can get that shot!
The Wood Duck primarily nests in trees near water, sometimes directly above water but other times up to a mile away. After hatching, the ducklings jump down from the next and make their way immediately to the water. The mother calls them to her but does not help them in any way. They ducklings may jump from heights over 50 feet without injury. What is that, about 200 times their body height? That’s like us jumping from 1,200 feet… I’m glad we don’t have to do that… Wood ducks pair up in January. Most birds arriving at the breeding grounds in the spring have already been paired. The Wood Duck is the only North American duck that regularly produces two broods in one year.
This image was taken with my Canon EOS 5DS using my Sigma 150-600mm f/5-6.3 Sports Lens set on 600 mm. The camera was set on Aperture priority mode with the aperture set at f/6.3, shutter speed at 1/640th of a second and the ISO set at 640.
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© 2016 T. Kahler Photography
