Waiting for Wood Ducks

May 5, 2025

I was standing in muck along the edge of a small marsh, knee deep in tick-laden reeds, hoping the Wood Ducks I had heard earlier would return. It was a chilly spring morning and I had underestimated how cold I might get just standing still. Sometimes, though, the sun would peek through the clouds, giving me a brief illusion of warmth, but the cold breeze still cut through me. I pulled the hood of my sweatshirt up over my head, tried not to worry about ticks that might be crawling up my legs, stuffed my hands deep into my pockets, and waited for the Wood Ducks to return.

The marsh was alive with the sound of birds, most noticeable among them were the Red-winged Blackbirds. By belting out their familiar song over and over again, the males were working hard to woo the nearby females. The song of the Red-winged Blackbird is the quintessential sound of spring here in Michigan.

The quiet, less noticeable females were hanging out in the reeds, skulking through the vegetation for food and gathering materials to weave together into their intricate nests.

A smaller, even less noticeable bird was also flitting among the reeds across from where I was standing. With its subtle coloring of brown, gray, buff, and black, this little bird was well-camouflaged and hard for me to see along the edge of the swamp. I recognized it, though, partly because of its distinctive markings, but mostly from its location. It was a Swamp Sparrow!

While I was watching the little Swamp Sparrow flitting around the marsh, a splash of yellow caught my eye. A tiny bird kept flitting among the reeds so quickly that I had a very hard time bringing it into focus for a picture. The bird in question turned out to be a Common Yellowthroat. Its bright yellow feathers and broad black mask make it one of the most easily recognizable warblers—if you can get it to sit still long enough!

Higher up in the tangle of branches was a barely visible olive gray bird with a white breast. I had no idea what it was so I kept taking pictures, hoping one would be good enough to identify later using one of my birding apps. This one turned out to be a Least Flycatcher.

At this point, it was well past an hour into my vigil, and still no Wood Ducks!

In the distance, I could see a lone Kingbird perched on a reed. With its dark gray back, white chest, and neat white tip on the tail, the Eastern Kingbird looks like it’s wearing a business suit—and this bird is ALL business when it feels threatened! It will readily attack any birds that enter its territory, even if they are much bigger! It’s called a Kingbird for a reason!

About the same time that I spotted the Kingbird, a Great Blue Heron flew overhead!

When I turned my attention back to the marsh in front of me, I saw a pair of Common Grackles perched in another tree not far from the Kingbird. Grackles are stunning birds to observe especially when the sun highlights the iridescent blue feathers on their head. Unfortunately, Grackles are also the number one threat to corn crops. They eat ripening corn as well as corn sprouts, and their habit of foraging in big flocks means they make a multimillion-dollar impact on corn producers.

Another colorful bird that was flitting among the tangled branches and tall reeds was the Palm Warbler. It’s a relatively easy warbler to identify, with its rusty-colored cap, yellow eyebrows, and yellow belly with rusty streaks. These cheerful little birds are migrating through Michigan right now and I love finding them!

I’d been waiting in the muck now for almost two hours and I wasn’t even sure the Wood Ducks would be back before I had to leave. But I had a little more time so I continued to entertain myself watching all the birds going about their daily lives right in front of me mostly oblivious to my presence. At that point, I’d gotten pictures of thirteen of those birds, including a few American Robins, at least one American Redstart, a mewing Catbird, and a few bright yellow American Goldfinches.

Suddenly there was the sound of splashing off to my left! The Wood Ducks were back!! I quickly turned my camera in their direction, hoping my settings were all correct and zoomed in. There were two males and one female and they were already swimming away from me headed for the shelter of the reeds. It wouldn’t be long before they disappeared from view so I started snapping pictures as fast as I could, hoping for one or two good shots. These are such beautiful birds, particularly the males, with their iridescent colors of blue, green, chestnut, and purple; and their contrasting patterns of white around their neck, head and flanks. It would be so disappointing to miss a shot after all this time!

Not only did I have the right settings, the Wood Ducks stayed longer than expected for the photo shoot—AND I never got any ticks! It doesn’t get much better than that!