Thursday, May 3, 2012

Bird: Mallard facts, dabbling, flying swimming........

Among the countless varieties of ducks, mallards are my most favorite. Male and female, though strikingly different in plumage pattern and color, are equally stunning.I just can't get enough of the pretty mallards. Feasting the eyes on and pointing the lens at them makes a wonderful recreation. I love everything about them, their pleasant countenance, striking plumage, graceful swim, occasional bathing and diving, preening, napping, intrepidness, cohesion...


I learned that these group of ducks are called dabbling ducks. Well,  it encompasses the waterfowls who forage at the surface rather than diving. Now I knew why they prefer being fed with bread chunks, cheerios, flattened rice or lentils, rather than turning upside down to probe the mud in hope of a worm, snail or minnow :)

When spring arrived and breeding season ensued.....the mallards went into frenzy...I saw a lot of flying and landing on the water..what an excellent picture it painted....I would like to share the glee...




On a summer afternoon, mallards swimming merrily on the serene Woodbridge lake...

Saw this female mallard crouching timidly on the lawn below the Lily Pilly and Sweetgum trees. Nightfall was imminent and its eyeball color looked ghostly. I compared it with that of a picture taken in daylight and what a stark difference it showed! Some studies claim that these ducks have poor night vision which I corroborate. If not, why did not it make any attempt to flee, even though I was standing within touching distance?


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