The Wood Duck

The wood duck is one of a few ducks in North America that nests in trees near water. Many people consider it to be the most beautiful of all waterfowl. You can count me among them now. I think they look like swimming paintings.
Wood ducks readily nest in boxes, and that's how they were introduced to North Chagrin Reservation. As you can see on this photo, the head of a wood duck drake is iridescent. While the females look more drab, they also have a crest and beautiful plumage. Most remarkable is their white eye ring.
They feed off seeds, acorn, fruits, and invertebrates. At North Chagrin, they often picked up pieces of wood out of the pond.
Wood ducks pair up in January and are usually paired by the time they reach their breeding grounds. They are probably gone by now, but they'll be back in Ohio next year, ready to enchant us again with their beauty.