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.
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.
Once she reached the male, she came to a halt right in front of him.
There, she waited for a bit as the male looked her over.
Next thing I know, he hops on her back and they begin to copulate.
Not all crazy like Mallards can get. They simply mated, nice and calm.
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.
Not far away, another male watches from his stretch of the shore waiting his turn with one of the other females.
Love in the afternoon.
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