Autumn Reflection, Wood Duck, Northeast Ohio

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The wood duck or Carolina duck, (aix sponsa) shares its genus with the Asian Mandarin duck. Adult males have distinctive multi-colored iridescent plumage and red eyes while the female is a much less colorful brown with a white eye-ring and a whitish throat. Both adults have crested heads. When swimming wood ducks bob their head back and forth in a jerking motion making them easy to spot. This photograph was captured in an area where sunlit trees in peak fall color were strongly reflected in the water. Nine years later it has been reprocessed with new tools and techniques for a much nicer look in the shadow areas.