The Art of the Wood Duck

"Even if photographers chose to photograph only a single family of birds, such as the owl family, or a single species of bird, such as the Great Blue Heron, their life's work would never be done, their photographic collection never complete." - Arthur Morris

I read this last weekend in his book, "The Art of Bird Photography", and it struck a chord with me. I have been photographing Wood Ducks only for a few months, but every time I see them I am awestruck at their beauty. And I always see new and interesting behaviors or features highlighted by a different angles of the sun.

In this image the duck has his mouth open and you can see two interesting features: The serrations, tooth-like projections, on the sheath of the beak help the duck to better grip its food. Also you can see the hard, black tip of the beak which is called the nail. This nail is most likely used for prying or digging.

Photographed from a blind at Brick Pond Wetland Preserve. May 2015
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