Yet another drama.  I was thrilled to finally get a chance to photograph some Wood Duck chicks, but there was an added bonus of them watching out for the Red-Tailed Hawk soaring overhead. It was just precious to see the chick looking up too: kind of a two-for-one deal.

The first thing I saw was lots of males around with not a whole lot to do.  They are now all fully out of breeding plumage.

Male wood duck in non-breeding plumage  Not to be judgemental or anything, but Wood Ducks can look awfully goofy when viewed straight on:

Male wood duck in non-breeding plumage While these guys were drifting along aimlessly, the mama was tending the chicks.  Very cute bunch I must say:

Female Wood Duck with two of her chicks

While photographing the chicks, I noticed that this mama and chick started looking up:

Female Wood Duck and her chick looking up at a red-tailed hawk They did this long enough that it prompted me to look up too. There were two Red-tailed Hawks being pursued by two crows. 

Red-tailed Hawk being pursued by two crows Both hawks looked pretty beat up:

Red-tailed hawk Nobody got consumed, so all was well with the Wood Duck chicks. To see more pictures from the day, click here: June 23, 2017