Photography

Duck Pairs

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The mallard ducks have all paired off …

… and are busily eating as much as they can in preparation for the spring arrival of their hatchlings.

The male mallards help with the nesting but once the young ones arrive, they go off by themselves to suffer through their moulting period. The moulting makes them feel terrible (and look rather terrible, too); I have seen lots of male mallards looking very listless and ill.

Did you know that mallards are the progenitors of nearly all domesticated duck species except the Muscovy ducks? And did you also know that despite the name, Muscovy ducks are native to the Americas and not at all to Russia?

Happy Wednesday.

13 thoughts on “Duck Pairs”

  4. Great to see birds making their spring preparations Lynette. The mallards are always ubiquitous in every pond, even down under. While I have never seen Muscovy ducks in Canada, they seem to be everywhere in new Zealand.

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