Unusual Field of View

It’s not often that one encounters Wood Ducks and American Robins in the same binocular view, but that’s what happened to me yesterday, probably for the first time in my life. Taking advantage of mild afternoon temperatures (in the high 60s), I put the rowboat in the water and rowed along the northern shoreline of Crescent Lake. Approaching a shallow northwesterly extension of the lake that is surrounded by woods on all sides, I spotted two Wood Ducks in the water very close to shore. I quickly put my binoculars on them and found that they were a pair, a male and female, both in high plumage. I soon realized that, immediately behind the Wood Ducks, on the adjacent shore and between them, was an American Robin. Nervous at my presence, the Wood Ducks slowly inched their way along the shoreline away from me. As they did so, the robin kept pace, hopping along the shore with them. It was amusing to see this unusual pairing of species not usually encountered in the same habitats (or at least not in the same field of view): an American Robin framed stunningly by a pair of Wood Ducks.