The beauty of a hen

C

Colin Fitzpatrick

Active member
Just wanted to share this picture of a hen wood duck a friend of mine took last week. It wasn't banded or anything to make it stand out, but I just thought this was a beautiful bird. I think a lot of people get caught up in the colorful plumage of drakes that the subtle beauty of a hen is often over looked

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I agree Colin. A perfect hen is a fine specimen and as distinctive as her mate. I shot a perfect hen Common GE a number of years ago and had her mounted with a perfect drake - my two favorite mounts.
 
One of my favorite birds is a hen eider. You really see the beauty when you try to paint all those feathers.
 
Colin, you are so right. Love that shot. Those yellow eye ceres that they have are something else. Thanks for posting this.
Al
 
Not that it means anything, but I consider the Hen Wood Duck the most beautiful of all hen puddle ducks. When I do shoot one I admire it, but there is always a tinge of sadness. Twice I have seen a hen call her brood out of the nest. They teeter on the brink, then jump down, bounce, and scurry to mama. Can't ever forget that...
 
Al - Trout fishing has many rewards, and both times I witnessed it I was trout fishing. Once during Spring Turkey hunting I saw a Common Merganser land in a dead tree in the middle of a clear cut. I could not believe my eyes! As the creek was a 1/4 mile down hill. I have been very blessed to have lived most of my life Outdoors. It's WAY better than PBS Nature...

Possible it is a Mandarin, due to upper bill coloration. Bill length of a hen Mandarin 1.1 inches. Bill length of a hen Wood Duck 1.3 inches. Total length Mandarin hen 17.3 inches, Wood Duck hen 18.1 inches.

The Wood Duck and the Mandarin The Northern Wood Ducks by Lawton L. Shurtleff & Christopher Savage with a forward by Sir Peter Scott - Very Good reference book.
 
That narrow tapering white eye ring is also a character of the mandarin.....woodies hens ring is wider and broader. How the heck did that end up in NJ. Escapee from cape may?
 
And the saga continues---What if it didn't escape from someone's aviary?
Makes you let your mind wander, doesn't it.
Al
 
I agree with you Pete. I've got a pair of Goldeneyes hanging over a nice painting of GE's flying up a snow covered river. It's my favorite of all my mounts.
 
Definitely a hen Mandarin! Too cool. A drake was shot in eastern Pa on the opener. They are certainly around as they fit right in with wood ducks and most likely make the migration as well.
 
Glad I posted this here even though my identification was wrong! Would have never even guessed it to be a mandarin, I wish I had known before we ate the bird
 
Wow, didn't catch that. I thought it looked a little bit funny, but didn't put 2 & 2 together.
From what I have read, there are breeding populations out west, in CA, but no documented breeding in the east. This could easily change if enough feral birds get together.
 
I am a taxidermist and I love to mount hen waterfowl, the colors and markings are beautiful. I try to encourage my clients to mount a hen with a drake.
 
The Cape May NJ zoo has several Mandarin that are pinioned and spend some time outside in the ponds. Perhaps one escaped or interbreed with a wild wood duck.
 
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