Top Photo: Male mallard swims away. Do you notice anything odd about this duck? Everyone has seen a mallard. To most people mallards are the duck. Let’s face it, they’re everywhere. They’re the most common duck across the northern hemisphere and part of the southern. They can be found in North and South America, Europe, Asia and parts of the African continent. They’re even in Greenland, Australia and New Zealand. If asked, what color is a mallard’s head? most peopleRead more
Posts tagged: #drake
Duck Duties
Top Photo: Drake feeds as duck preens. Ducks take preening, as do all birds, very seriously. After all, feathers are an important part of their lives. Feathers keep them cool in summer, warm in winter, dry both in and out of the water, and allows them to fly. Feather care is an essential part of their daily routine. Birds even have a built-in oil gland (uropygial gland) located on their backs just forward of the tail. If you watch aRead more
Mallards, sort of
Besides the hooded mergansers and buffleheads swimming around our Wetlands, an old familiar male mallard has stopped in, with a different female than I’d seen him with previously. I know this is the same drake mallard because of his plumage, he is not pure mallard. This drake has some domestic duck mixed in. The fact is, there are probably few pure mallards in our area although their plumage may or may not appear to be purebred mallard.Read more
Seasonal Firsts and other Exciting News
For the last month we’ve had a trio of mallards staying with us. Mallards are nothing unusual anywhere in North America but we haven’t attracted many here in our wetland over the past several years. The current trio, two drakes and a duck, have been foraging heavily. One day I noticed them intently digging and mucky around in the swamp across from the Main Wetlands Overlook, between the overlook and the Black Bear Compound. The mallards were probing the mud and leavesRead more