I am sure our Wood Duck experts knew this, but I sure didn't.

"The males do not have the decorative markings all year-round. They use the colorful markings to attract females during the breeding season, which runs from autumn until the early summer. In the late summer, they grow gray feathers with blue markings on the wings and white markings on the face and neck. You can still recognize the bird as a wood duck by its red eyes and bill."

I did have two pairs of ducks on our creek for much of the summer. I thought the males looked like teal, since I was careful to only peek at the ducks.

I now believe they were wood ducks. I wish our creek hadn't dried up during the drought this fall because it would have been nice to see two more groups of ducklings grow up on our land.