Of all of the duck species we’ve got flying around NC, perhaps the most beautiful is the Wood Duck.
I was lucky to find several of them yesterday morning while birding with @latta.ridge at Lake Hinson in Rockingham.
It was thrilling to watch this small flock swimming around and preening on the water.

Wood Ducks are a year round resident of North Carolina though they appear to migrate locally to our eastern counties once the weather turns cold.
During the summer they are found throughout the state from the mountains to the coast.
Males are unmistakable to ID with those gorgeous colors, yet the hens (as seen in the last photo) are quite lovely too dressed in soft grey plumage punctuated by those colorful purple speculum feathers.

As their name implies, Wood Ducks favor fresh water wetland habitats with wooded shorelines such as ponds, marshes, swamps and bogs. Unlike other waterfowl, they are cavity nesters and will take up residence of unoccupied woodpecker holes in trees and nest boxes.
In fact, I’ve had the best luck spotting Wood Ducks in areas where Red-headed Woodpeckers are found as the two species seem to favor similar habitats.

Photos by @sally_siko of @birdwatching_nc on the mighty mirrorless monster of a camera, the @canonusa
#R5