Wood Duck

A female Wood Duck (Aix sponsa) through several layers of wild. There were at least seven on the Pools recently. Two of the males. All the males were out of their harlequin breeding feathers, in eclipse plumage, and looked like abashed clowns who had trashed an orphanage after wiping off the greasepaint.

It looks like this species is becoming a regular breeder in Prospect Park… if a couple of years can mean “regular.”