The Story of Enzo

This is Enzo. The sweetest little Cinnamon Teal you'd ever meet.  He arrived at Lindo Lake this last winter. He was the only one of his kind, but that is not unusual.  Many bird species stop off at Lindo Lake and then move on, not Enzo. He stayed. He spent his time with all the Mallards and they seemed to accept him.  One day (the day this photo was taken) I was sitting down, throwing bird seed for the Mallards and Wood Ducks and I felt a tap on my left hand.  I looked down and this little Cinnamon Tea was tapping my hand with his beak.  Apparently he got sick of the competition with the other ducks so he came up behind me and requested to be fed by hand.  I tried to put seed on the ground, but he was not having it, only from my hand would he eat.

In late February Enzo found himself a girlfriend:

Why yes, that is a Mallard. Needless to say not an appropriate mate for Enzo.  But he was smitten and she seemed to be as well.  Her normal companion (a male Mallard) stayed close by, but if he got too close, Enzo became the fierce protector and chased him away.  I felt kinda bad for the Male Mallard, he looked so alone and spent all his time following two ducks that wanted nothing to do with him.

And then, it happened. Spring.  Mating season. Can you guess what happened?  Yes, poor little Enzo was kicked to the curb and he had traded places with the male Mallard.  He followed them and tried to be part of their group and it just was not allowed.  Enzo then started to spend time alone.  he had no other Cinnamon Teals to hang out with,  most of the Mallards were mated and nesting, so poor Enzo was alone.  And then it got worse, I started to notice he was loosing a lot of feathers.

not only was he alone, but he was clearly getting beat up.  Sometimes nature can be cruel.  But to my utter relief and joy, this was not the case.  Enzo was not loosing his feathers due to being tormented, quite the opposite.  He was molting and his plumage was changing and this is my sweet little Enzo now.

I have done some  research and I can find NOTHING regarding this plumage change.  Perhaps he's going through an 'eclipse' like a male wood duck?  Perhaps the rust plumage is breeding or mating colors?  Not sure. All I know is he's ok, he's not being brutalized by any other animal. He's not some poor little loner.  Cinnamon Teal's do NOT practice  monogamy, so his little "romance" with the Mallard did not break his heart :)  And the best news of all, looks like Enzo has decided to call Lindo Lake home.