Wood Duck - Drake in Moult

 Wood Duck drakes might be the most beautiful duck in North America but that beauty isn't always evident.  When the birds first arrive here in Spring they are at their most colourful stage as displayed by this bird shot in early April.

By about the third week in May they are already starting to lose some of their breeding plumage but are still quite handsome and can still fly.

But by the end of June they don't resemble their former selves at all,  they have lost most of their flight feathers and are not able to fly and the crest is barely evident. It won't be until late September before they start looking beautiful again.