Birdland
The Exquisite Wood Duck Sometimes you just have to wade through the marshes, through swarms of mosquitoes, to get close to the exquisite wood duck. As the Cornell Lab of Ornithology notes, “males are iridescent chestnut and green, with ornate patterns on nearly every feather; the elegant females have a distinctive profile and delicate white pattern around the eye.” Secretive and shy, their beauty contributed to their near-demise in the late 19th century, the result of hunting for meat and for their feathers for ladies’ hats. Thanks to the Federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918, their population has rebounded. These wood ducks were photographed at Bluff Lake Wildlife Refuge, just a few miles northeast of Park Hill. Photograph by Park Hill resident Mark Silverstein