Ducks in the Park

Lots of ducks chillin' in Canal park

Shots for the water; ducks for bling.

A Ducky Day

A hen mallard and her five ducklings were enjoying the wild rice pond on the UMD campus. The ducklings were very active chasing bugs across the surface of the pond.  They have some good speed!  When no bugs were to be seen, they would dive under the surface.  The mama hen kept close watch and continuously voiced a low quack to keep the duckling within hearing range.  If one ventured too far--or I got too close--the hen would let out a louder and slightly different tone and the duckling would quickly paddle closer to her.

Mallard duckling chasing a bug and leaving a wake.

River day

Visited the mouth of the Lester River this morning.  The 47 degree breeze off Lake Superior was quite a bit chillier than the 80 degrees we saw yesterday.  I sought refuge in the high-banked river bottom behind the Superior St bridge.  Four mallards were foraging the river and several female American Redstarts were darting from tree to tree across the water.

Female American Redstart

Four drake mallards

Why did the duck cross the road?

Just down the road from my house I had to hit the brakes as there was a hen and drake mallard sitting on the road.

Nearby was a mourning dove picking rocks

Back in my yard, a pair of downy woodpeckers were squabbling over the suet block.  The female would not let the male have his breakfast and kept chasing him off.

Preening in the mirror

So I spotted some geese standing at the edge of the ice on Pike Lake.  Then I heard a quack.

And I spotted a hen mallard sunning herself on a nearby dock.

Soon I heard a more distant quack.  And the quacking got closer as I spotted a drake mallard swimming a beeline towards the hen.  I knew the drake would try to get up by the hen, so I waited for the jump. As soon as he splashed to jump, I snapped the shot.  He startled the hen and she took off.

Double duck

A drake mallard on a still vernal pool.  Previously I have seen a pair of mallards on this water.