I got a couple Wood Ducks today at a cemetery in South Portland . . . Maine Big Year Bird #119.  And it’s the most embarrassing bird of the year.

I came upon a large flock of Mallards feeding and socializing in a tiny corner of a pond that hadn’t frozen over.  Experience has told me, large winter congregations of Mallards can occasionally yield a Wood Duck or two hidden in the maelstrom.

So I set up my scope and systematically started scanning the birds . . . working from the front and slowly moving back.  After 20 minutes I relocated to the side and began to search left to right.

After 30 minutes of this nonsense I decided there were no Wood Ducks and decided to take a photo of a Mallard drake.  I picked a beautiful bird and lifted my camera to focus . . . and two Wood Ducks swam right in front of my field of view . . . first a male and then a female.

Sometimes its better to be lucky than lucky to be good.