Love A Duck!

Got to love this silver wood duck, what an exquisite bird. 

I haven't been to Fishers Green in the Lee Valley Park for ages but decided to go today to see if I could photograph the drake smew which has been seen on Seventy Acres Lake. I've shot redhead (female) smews there but have never seen a drake.

I knew where to look but there was no sign of him so Ollie dog and I went to Hooks Marsh in search of the wood duck. We found it immediately and I was captivated. It is a drake and is a colour mutation of the wood duck. Regular wood ducks are extremely colourful and attractive. These birds hail from North America. I'm guessing this one has escaped from captivity. They have claws which means that they can perch in trees. They make their nests high in holes in tree trunks and the ducklings jump to the ground twenty-four hours after they hatch. This bird seems to be getting on very well with the local mallards.