The Female Wood Duck is preparing for mating with the Male.
This is the posistion they assume just before mating.
Like most ducks the male mounts from behind and on top and grabs the female around the neck and holds her head under water while mating
Nikon D3
600mm F4
1.7 EXT
F6.7
1/1000th
ISO 400
Gitzo Tripod
SB-900 Flash Fill with Better Beamer
Last edited by john crookes; 11-10-2009 at 08:30 AM.
Nicely done, John, and a good illustration of this behavior. The colors exposure and DOF look good. My only suggestion would be to try a pano crop - especially off the top, as I think that will emphasize the birds more and strengthen the image.