Blue-winged Teal in red crystal waters...

I saw this beautiful Blue-winged Teal couple in the Ding Darling NWR on Sanibel Island, Florida. They were swimming in the channel off the Indigo Trail quietly moving in and out of the mangrove roots. The water was dull and murky with a slight reddish-brown cast, but when the couple moved into an area of deep shadow sprinkled with pockets of filtered sunlight, an optical illusion brought the water to life. Wherever the sun struck the murky water, fiery red color seemed to rise up from below, as if it was being lit by flaming crystals underneath...

The male Blue-winged teal left a stream of fiery color in his wake. What an unusual sight!! I'd never seen anything like it before, and on my return walk, the illusion was gone.

A male Blue-winged Teal in breeding plumage is so striking. I love spotting the white crescent-shaped mark on his face and the white circular patch near his tail. If you look sideways and combine his reflection, he looks like an eerie owl with huge white eyes. His speckled chest and sides add to the owlish look. When I was photographing him, the owl illusion really jumped out. The whole scene was surreal...creepy...and Scooby Dooby Doo-ish!

...can this water be real? You would think red "mood" lighting had been installed underneath as an added attraction for tourists...sort of like the old disco floors...

Disco ducks?

...eventually the Blue-winged Teal couple left the deep shadows....

...and came out into the light. The glowing reds left the water, but a small patch of his his famous sky-blue wing coverts became visible instead!

I photographed these birds last March. I wish I were in Florida now, though!