Survivor Wood Duck | Aix sponsa | Canard branchu in Prince Edward County

            For the second winter in a row this female Wood Duck with a broken wing is overwintering at the Picton Marina in Prince Edward County, Ontario, Canada. The County is a bit north of the species' usual range for the cold months, so it is a bit of struggle for her to survive. 

Unable to fly south, she has to make do as best she can. Sometimes the available open water freezes down to almost nothing, and the temperature can drop below what she was built to usually withstand. On the plus side, town folk regularly deliver supplies of bird seed for her to eat, and she has teamed up with some local Mallards for company. 

Having made it through at least one winter, chances are good that she will survive another.

I suppose she could be captured and put in a waterfowl collection, but maybe she is happier taking her chances in the wild. I don't know. 

I do know that the fate of an individual like this has no direct bearing on the species' survival at the population level, but I also know our response to the situation tells us about what it means to be human, and how our relationship with nature should operate. Protecting this particular duck benefits our own hearts, and nurtures the kind of mentality capable of addressing and fixing the massive environmental problems our planet faces.

Taken in: Canada / Ontario / Picton (show map)

Taken on: December 30, 2020

Tags:

Wood Duck

Aix sponsa

Picton Marina

Picton

Prince Edward County

Ontario

Canada

Bird

Waterfowl

Nature

Wildlife

Winter

Ice

Canon

EOS

90D

600mm f/4L IS III « less

Sets appears in: • Prince Edward County

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Camera: Canon EOS 90D, f/7.1, 1/800 sec, 600mm, ISO 800 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Canon EOS 90D
Lens:	EF600mm f/4L IS III USM
Aperture:	f/7.1
Exposure Time:	0.001 sec (1/800)
Focal Length:	600mm
ISO:	800
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
Flash:	No Flash
Exposure Program:	Aperture-priority AE
Exposure Mode:	Auto
Metering Mode:	Center-weighted average
White Balance:	Auto
Color Space:	sRGB
Software:	Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Classic 10.1 (Macintosh)
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