Feather finery of a female Mallard

First of all, has anyone heard anything from, or about, our amazing Flickr friend, Snowinglightly? Today is the 12th day since she suddenly stopped commenting here on Flickr, For years, she has been such a loyal friend, leaving such long, thoughtful and very creative comments on people's photos every single day. To suddenly stop like this, is making me very concerned. The only time I remember her not commenting, for maybe four days in a row, was when she had ended up in hospital. Twelve days would be more than enough time to sort out any computer problems or to have to replace a computer, so I don't think that would be a reason. I have left messages in various places, but so far, still don't know any answer. If you happen to know, could you PLEASE let me know?

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

She's beautiful, even if she is "just" an everyday female Mallard. I never get tired of photographing Mallards, or seeing photos taken by other photographers. This photo was taken at a wetland in SW Calgary yesterday, 3 November 2016, when I called in for just a very quick visit.

Earlier in the day, I had been on a birding walk at Burnsmead, Fish Creek Park, all morning with friends, seeing various birds that were just distant silhouettes and much too far away for photos. I had been on a similar walk two days earlier, seeing only distant birds.

Yesterday, though, I decided that I needed to see something close enough to photograph, so I went south a little way to look for a Long-tailed Weasel that people had been seeing all last week - but, as usual, not on the day that I went, lol! After 45 minutes of waiting, there was still no sign of the little Weasel yesterday. So, my usual plan of desperation took me to a wetland in the SW of the city, where I can usually see Mallards. Sure enough, there were two pairs hanging out together, and I really appreciated their giving me the chance to take a few photos. They were swimming in and out of sunlight and shadow, giving totally different photos.

I will add the list of species seen at Burnsmead, complied by our leaders, in a comment box below.