World's Most Beautiful Duck

A kind visitor to this blog alerted me to the presence of Wood Ducks (Aix sponsa) in Victoria, courting near a small pond in an obscure little park. I've never seen a Wood Duck before although they have long been on my "must see" list. They are brilliantly colorful and it was very satisfying to see them. Thank you Cheryl. I usually think of ducks as nesting in the reeds near the waterline but Wood Ducks generally nest in cavities up in the trees near water. When the eggs hatch the nestlings simply jump out of the nest, sometimes from very great heights. However, they are so light and fluffy that they usually land safely and are able to follow their mother to water (see the video below). Though not so dramatically decorated as the male (featured in today's post) the females of this species are also very attractively coloured (see tomorrow's post).