Wood Duck Courtship.

[Daniel Cadieux]

It was fun to observe this bonded pair perform the courtship ritual, then the actual, ahem, activities. Here she swam low along the water surface in order to present herself to the eager male looming behind.

Canon R6 + 500mm f/4 II + 1.4TC III, manual exposure, evaluative metering, 1/1250s., f/5.6, ISO 3200, handheld, small crop after CW rotation, contrast and saturation to taste.

[Jonathan Ashton]

Nice behaviour and snow, I bet you were cold but your perseverance paid off.

[Mike Poole]

It may be the light, but the overall shot looks a little flat - could maybe a bit more punch. Nice action and the traditional low angle

Mike

[Dorian Anderson]

Saw this on IG and it looks even better on the big screen. The colors crack in those icy surrounds! The behavior is great. I don't think you could have captured a better permutation of eyes and gazes. Story tells itself.
The light dusting of snow on the backs is a super bonus. Low angle kills, as usual.

[Andreas Liedmann]

Hi Dan .. a super behavior shot .
Love the snow on the back of the female , killer low POV .
Colors look great ... as does the bright vignetting .

TFS Andreas

[Jack Backs]

Nice behavior image. I'd consider cropping to16x9 to tighten up the image.

[Arthur Morris]

So how eager was he? At ILE, I have seen the female cranes lit down to invite the male only to have the male approach and then walk away1

with love, a