Species competition

I didn't know until today that the American black duck population is declining, due to pressure from the ubiquitous mallard - through interbreeding and displacement from preferred breeding habitat. The black duck population at the marsh appears to my eyes to be relatively consistent, but there does seem to be a growing number of mallards present. This shot shows some of the mallards I saw this morning.

Not camera shy

This female mallard was feeding in the duckweed along the edge of the marsh on Friday. It didn't swim away when I approached like most ducks do, enabling me to get a decent shot. It could be a juvenile, as they seem to be less wary.

Close call

This afternoon when I walked the trail, I stopped at the spot where I had previously seen the mallard female with five young. I was taking a shot of a painted turtle basking on a raft of old cattails, when suddenly off to my left a duck began quacking frantically. A dog had jumped in the water after her, and she was trying to distract it from her ducklings. I finally succeeded in getting the dog to come out of the water, and the mallard gathered up her little flock and moved out of harm's way. The whole time, there was no sign of the dog's owner. I have to say I was more than a little annoyed.

Cute as buttons

While watching one of the black duck families this morning, I almost missed a female mallard with her five new chicks, about twenty feet from where I was standing. I stood very still and watched her and her brood for a good ten minutes. The bottom shot above is a close-up of three of the five ducklings.

Dabbling ducks

A more typical November day today, weather-wise, than we've been having. The buffleheads were scattered all over the marsh this morning. I saw one green-winged teal, several black ducks, and eleven mallards, eight of which are shown here. Without boots I couldn't get to the viewing stand to see if the coots and hooded mergansers are still on the marsh. They were there yesterday. I also saw a six-point buck yesterday which I wished I could have gotten a shot of, but I didn't take the camera since it was quite damp. This being hunting season, he's lucky he was where he was or he could have been in the sights of a more lethal implement.

Handsome couple

There are still a number of Mallards at the marsh. This morning I caught this pair which had been feeding at the marsh edge.

Iconic duck

When most people think of a wild duck, the Mallard is probably the first to come to mind. The marsh has supported a fair-sized population of mallards all season. Lately they have been feeding at the upper end of the marsh among the cattails, where the water is shallower and there is shelter from the wind. This morning there were about 25 of them there. This shot is of two Mallard pairs, plus a black duck, far left rear.

In sync

A small group of mallards and green-winged teal were feeding at the upper end of the marsh yesterday morning. The water level in the marsh was still high, so they needed a shallower spot to feed, as they are dabblers rather than divers. The Mallard pair in the top photo are the same pair in the 'bottoms-up' position in the lower shot.

Captured by the light

This is another male Mallard in his summer dress, standing at the same spot as the cormorant in yesterday's posting. I include it because I was especially taken by the way the morning light struck the bird, and by the colors and patterns in his surroundings. Believe me, it wasn't planned, I just got lucky. To me, it looks more like a painting than a photograph.

Summer dress

This adult male Mallard was among other mallards and a couple of grebes at another resting spot in the marsh this morning. Another example of the summer (eclipse) plumage of these birds. By October he'll look like his old self.

Eating on the run

I think this is the same Mallard pair from yesterday's posting. Today I caught them busily feeding in the duckweed. This is one way surface-feeding ducks eat; they plow through the water with their heads partly submerged, taking into their bills what they find, then sifting out what they don't want through the comb-like teeth along the edges of their bills. Often a whole group of ducks is seen feeding like this.

Breaking trail

This morning, the sun was shining brightly when I walked the trail. This Mallard pair, probably juveniles, was making a path through the duckweed at the upper end of the marsh. The duckweed was so thick there, it soon closed up behind them.

In disguise

This morning I happened to catch this prime example of a duck in eclipse plumage. It was busily feeding way out on the water, but finally raised its head so I could see the color of its bill. Since it was yellow, that makes me almost certain that this was a male adult mallard (the female's bill would be more rusty colored). He wont be back in his full dress until probably September.

Taking it easy

This Mallard female with her four young were taking a breather on one of the long 'loafing bars' in the marsh this morning. She and her brood seem to move around a lot, as I have seen them at several different locations in the marsh.