Today’s featured bird isn’t new to the blog due to the abundance of viewing opportunities we have in the Midwest (and honestly those previous shots of these birds are likely better than this new set but you have to go with what you have). There probably isn’t a body of water of any size where you couldn’t find at least one of these birds hanging out along or paddling around. To say they have North America covered when it comes to regions would be an understatement. Yes, I’m referring to that common yet colorful duck called a Mallard (and yes, you get the head across the body shot)
The good news is the adult male birds (called Drakes) are super easy to identify. Just look for the dull yellow bill attached to a iridescent green head. If you are lucky you can also tell by the iridescent purple blue speculum feathers – although according to Wikipedia they do molt those for a short period of time in the Summer. Now the females are a completely different story. As with many birds, the male displays the fancier coloring where the female remains in the more drab browns. This makes it very difficult to distinguish from the other female species – reason why I always try to take shots of surrounding birds when it comes to females.
“Umm, excuse me, are you taking a picture of my ass?”
“Uh.. no I was shooting that little splashy thing over there, yeah, that splashy thing.”
Left the one above in here because it did show a little bit of the blue on the wings but mainly because it looks like it took a golf ball to the side of the head. My guess is it was minding its own business simply crossing a fairway to bring nourishment to its family just as Linda was blasting a 5 wood out of the rough. Pour duck, another victim of her golf game (Linda 2 – Innocent Waterfowl ZERO).
Hit the link to read a little more about these Drakes.
Life Intrigued 