The Canvasback is one of North America’s largest and heaviest ducks, weighing up to 3.5 pounds and capable of flying at 56 miles per hour!   The breeding male Canvasback has a chestnut-colored head with bright red eyes.  These diving ducks are quite strikingly beautiful.  I photographed this male Canvasback just as he rose out of the water flapping his wings.  Water and feathers are flying everywhere as he exuberantly flapped and preened.  He had just come up from a dive and still has a layer of water on his bill.