Saturday, March 03, 2012

Love is in the Air.

And on the water.

I took a bunch of shots today but thought I would make this series a separate entry. More birds in tomorrow's post. This first find was pretty amazing. I swung around the lakes for my daily count and when I got to Lake Emerald, one of the best places to find Wood Ducks, I witnessed a scene I had never happened upon before.

Several Wood Ducks were swimming around the lake. They often head away from the road when cars come by too slowly but today they seemed more interested in one another. The closest bird was a male drinking in the lake all alone.

Wood Duck

I was busy trying to get the right angle when something began to appear from my right. A female was slowly swimming over with her head resting on the water's surface. Odd.

Wood Duck

Once she reached the male, she came to a halt right in front of him.

Wood Duck

There, she waited for a bit as the male looked her over.

Wood Duck

Next thing I know, he hops on her back and they begin to copulate.

Wood Duck

Not all crazy like Mallards can get. They simply mated, nice and calm.

Wood Duck

A few seconds later he pushed her down just a bit and they separated. They stayed near one another and bathed a bit before heading toward shore to rest.

Wood Duck

Not far away, another male watches from his stretch of the shore waiting his turn with one of the other females.

Wood Duck

Love in the afternoon.

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