Finally found him...
I've gotten a fair amount of photos of female Wood Ducks in the past few years, but never any drakes. Finally I was able to find a few pairs of the reclusive creatures... swimming in a lake at the golf course where I work! Who'd have thought? Not me... finally got a photo of the holy grail of waterfowl plumage.
That's not a Wood Duck...
There are several lakes at the golf course where I work, some of which I don't get to visit on any kind of regular basis as a result of their far proximity to the clubhouse. Some of the members there are fellow nature-lovers and always tell me of the things they see upon returning from their round, one group in particular having told me of another Wood Duck that had been relaxing in one of the far lakes. I'd already gotten some photos of one of the Wood Ducks in one of the nearer lakes so I didn't pay it much mind... until someone showed me a picture of it. It was indeed not a Wood Duck... it was a Mandrake. So gorgeous...
Unusual Structures
The two fanlike feathers on its back are quite perplexing to me. I would like to see what it looks like with its wings spread, to see if they do in fact serve any function. This I somewhat doubt as the rest of its aesthetic features seem to be quite superfluous and non-functional... unless it comes to attracting a mate.