Male and female Wood ducks
August 1, 2018 – Feathers lay scattered and suspended on top of the green floating duckweed and watermeal below a pair of molting Wood ducks perched on a limb just above the water. The male Wood duck in the foreground with his red bill and blood red eyes, that are focused on the intruder, is lacking that stunning alternate plumage of those celebrated nuptial feathers seen during the breeding season. The males drab color is very similar to the female or a young male during this phase of the basic post nesting molt. As we move through the late summer the male that has been in his basic or eclipse plumage for the past few months will show signs of the pre-alernate molt which will eventually give the little duck those glorious and amazing patterns of color that is known as alternate plumage. Courting will not be far behind that dramatic change that is coming for the secretive little Wood ducks and continue into spring. After the paired ducks have completed a successful nesting season nature will once again trigger the next pre-basic molt and the cycle continues.