Pretty Duck

There’s a great deal of movement among Tucson’s ponds this time of year. Warmer temperatures and stronger winds inspire a real restlessness in our wintering waterfowl, but before they take off for good, many of them do the rounds of the water features in city parks and in aquiprofligate gated “communities,” making it tough to find a given bird on a given day.

So it has been with this fine drake Wood Duck at Fort Lowell, apparently in part-time residence for several weeks now. Only Monday did I finally manage to catch up with him as he preened on the bank and occasionally dipped into the water with the remaining Mallards, American Wigeon, and handsome Ring-necked Ducks.

The historical status of Wood Duck in the southwest remains a puzzler to me. I know that the birds in central New Mexico are the products of an introduction half a century ago, but the ones that show up in southeast Arizona could as easily be of wild origin. On the other hand, the frequency with which “blond” birds and birds with clipped toes appear casts some doubt, emotional if not logical, on the wildness of the others, too.

The Fort Lowell drake has both halluces intact and flight feathers in good condition. His tameness might speak against him were it not for the fact that the wintering Ring-necked Ducks on the same pond mob passersby in the hopes that they come bearing bread! At least this pretty duck retains enough dignity to slip quietly into the water when approached too close.