Rondeau Ric

I was out checking the backup generator when I noticed something in the driveway. It was a ruddy duck sitting in the snow. I had time to go back to the house to get my camera and take a few images in the twilight. Lots of duck species fly along the lake in front of our place but are too far away to identify. I have no doubt that ruddy ducks were one of the unidentified. We have had a wood duck land in the yard, a couple of mallards walk in but that's it for ducks. Quite odd. Rondeau Provincial Park, Dec 25, 2022. Oxyura jamaicensis Pleistocene fossils of Ruddy Ducks, at least 11,000 years old, have been unearthed in Oregon, California, Virginia, Florida, and Illinois.

Female ruddy duck near Rondeau Provincial Park, March 2018. Oxyura jamaicensis Ruddy Ducks are very aggressive toward each other and toward other species, especially during the breeding season. They are even known to chase rabbits feeding on the shore. source -  https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Ruddy_Duck/

This duck reminds me of he bath time rubber ducky with its cocked tail and relatively large head. I think this bird was injured as it didn't climb of the mound and swim/fly away. It is duck hunting season. Oxyura jamaicensis Ruddy Ducks lay big, white, pebbly-textured eggs—the largest of all duck eggs relative to body size. Energetically expensive to produce, the eggs hatch into well-developed ducklings that require only a short period of care. source - https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Ruddy_Duck/lifehistory

Spotted this bird at Erieau, Ontario. Also had canvasback,bufflehead,lesser scaup,red breasted merganser and coots. Oxyura jamaicensis Ruddy Ducks lay big, white, pebbly-textured eggs—the largest of all duck eggs relative to body size. Energetically expensive to produce, the eggs hatch into well-developed ducklings that require only a short period of care.