A fine American duck

By Aaron Horrell

Pictured here is a male wood duck. The male wood duck is called a drake. The female wood duck is called a hen. They are usually seen very close together, whether when flying or swimming. The exception is during nesting season in spring when the hen is laying and incubating the eggs. She will nest inside a hole in a big tree. Sometimes the drake will give up after days of waiting alone and abandon her. Sometimes he will fly up into the tree she is nesting in and sit patiently on a limb waiting for her to come out. The hen is the primary caregiver of the baby chicks, who sometimes ride on her back while she is swimming.

I put on my winter coat and cap on a cool rainy March morning and went out before daylight to a pond where I had seen wood ducks the week before. My early morning strategy worked because I did not spook the ducks away as I walked carefully to a hiding place close to the water. Three hours of waiting and watching this drake cruise the edges of the pond finally delivered this photo. You can find some of my nature photos and other artwork at Painted Wren Art Gallery, 223 South Plaza Way in Cape Girardeau. We are open 1 to 6 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday. Anyone interested in photographing nature is welcome to visit and talk. River Region Photography Association meets at Painted Wren at 6:30 p.m., the third Thursday of each month.