Seven years ago yesterday, this female Ring-necked duck did me the honor of paddling perhaps 20 feet away in a much better cared-for (than today) lagoon at Heather Farm. The reeds were allowed to grow in winter, and were cut back by half only every other year. The Ring-necked duck winters in about half the U.S. from the west coast to Florida, and breeds in about half of Canada from B.C. to Newfoundland.
The hardest thing about photographing this bird is to capture the very thin purple band around the male's neck. Both male and female show that this dabbling duck should have been name the "Ring-billed!"
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