Thank you.

I photographed the bird at Sylvan Heights near Scotland Neck. My understanding is that the bird was captured near Chowan Swamp and placed in Sylvan Heights because of a poor chance of survival in the wild.

Thank you.

Unique for sure.

Interesting question. This drake was not paired up with a female but two other "normal" males were.

Thanks for looking and commenting.

Thanks. Certainly a unique bird.

I am posting two images; one of a "normal" Wood Duck that we are all familiar with. The second is a leucistic Wood Duck drake. A leucistic bird (or any other animal) is one that genetically has a defect in the way melanin is deposited in feathers, hair or skin. They are not albino; they do not have complete lack of pigment. Look at the eye ring, beak and even some of the feathers around the vent. The leucistic duck was photographed in North Carolina. Yes, the image was processed in Photoshop, but was not "photoshopped". This is the way the duck was.

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Interesting POV. Must have been a really flat day on the ocean.

I am processing some images I took last year at a wildlife reserve near our home, San Joaquin Wildlife Reserve. Unfortunately this location does not allow good positioning to take low point of view shots (have to stay on the trails along the lakes-cannot go down to the water's edge), but the variety of water birds make it a great location. What struck me about these images is the diversity of feeding behaviors and hence, the difference in beaks of the birds. These shots were all taken with a Canon R5, 100-500 mm lens, handheld. SS was faster than 1/3200. All processed in PS and cropped to about 75% FF. The first shot, an American Avocet, has a long upward curved beak (not shown in image) that the bird uses to push along the muddy bottom to stir up worms, etc. The second bird, al Long-billed Dowitcher, feeds in the same area but uses an up and down ("sewing machine motion) motion in the mud. Its beak is a long and straight. The third bird, a Black Skimmer, feeds in the same area (all of these shots were taken from virtually the same spot) but flys along the surface with its odd beak skimming the surface of the water. When the incredibly sensitive tongue detects a fish, the beak snaps shut and the bird swallows the fish.

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Usually I am attracted to beautiful, colorful birds to photograph. My wife is much the same. Occasionally though, even the name of a bird is intriguing. Most birds are named either for a physical characteristic (Lemon-rumped Tanager, Crimson-collared Tanager, etc) or sometimes the person who originally described the bird (Zeldon's Antbird). In this case though, the name describes a behavior. Firewood-gatherer. No, that is not a typo.
Deb took this shot in Brazil. These birds use the same nest year after year and add sticks to it making it larger and larger every year. Delicate pieces of material like many other birds? No, firewood sized sticks. Electical power poles are their favorite sites. Shot with a Canon R7, 100-500 at 500 mm. SS 1/2500, f/7.1, ISO 400, handheld. Processed in PS, cropped approximately 50%.

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Still about even. I do not need to choose one or the other, but I was curious about what others thought. Sometimes (in fact, often), I ask for other opinions and I see things differently after reading/talking about those differences.

So far about even in likes and dislikes. I agree with most comments-nice BG in and head angle in #1, but more interesting shot in #2.

Which image do you like best? These two shots were taken a few seconds apart, but I was using a zoom lens and the first shot was taken at 324 mm and the second at 151 mm. Both shots were taken with a Canon R6 at SS 1/200 (to capture the rain drops), ISO 2500, f/7.1 (wide open with this lens). The first shot has a branch in the lower L corner cloned out. Both shots were processed in PS with birds brightened and BG darkened slightly. Both shots are about 75% FF.

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