Wood Duck
Aix sponsa
Wood Duck · Prospect Park · 15 November 2025
A drake Wood Duck in full plumage on Prospect Park Lake in November, doubled in water still enough to hold the reflection almost perfectly. Wood Ducks are birds of wooded ponds and swamps across the continent, nesting in tree holes, and the park's lake with its old trees at the edge holds them all year.
Regularly named among the most ornately patterned ducks in North America. It was nearly hunted out by 1900 for the plumage and the meat, and came back on the strength of nest boxes and a hunting ban.
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