Female Wood Duck

Female wood duck napping on the rocks on April 4, 2019. I have primarily only been shooting wood ducks the past couple weeks at the same private location as my prior wood duck photo. There were 7 here this day (4 males and 3 females). They were more skittish this visit than the past few. Despite tempting them with corn, only one or two had an interest in it. As my friend and I moved closer to the group of mallards, geese, and wood ducks, a male and female couple hopped onto the ledge nearby and nibbled on some corn. While this was not a good angle due to both the sun and a tree casting a shadow where they were, we stayed there for some time. While my friend moved down around the tree, I slowly crept up the hill and around to where he was shooting.

After my friend had left, I tried to woo them with corn again with no better luck than an hour earlier. I eventually went back around the tree and sat on the ledge while allowing them to get more comfortable with my presence. Eventually 6 of them were up on the ledge preening and eating the occasional pieces of corn I'd toss. While this female was initially cautious of my presence, she eventually settled down and got a quick doze in before a male came by and woke her up. While I did try to lie down to get a level view of her and the others, the rocks made it uncomfortable so I continued shooting from my monopod for at least another 30-40 minutes.

Lens - Tamron 150-600mm F/5-6.3 Di VC USD G2 @ 550mm on Nikon D500