Mallard female

It felt good to wake up and see sunshine this morning, 25 May 2017, after the May storm we had yesterday! We had strong winds and continuous heavy rain, even snow in the NW part of the city.

This photo was taken on 11 May 2017, at a wetland in Calgary. Just a short drive and a quick visit. This Mallard landed on the fence railing, giving me the chance for a few close-up shots of her beautiful feathers. As soon as she landed, a male Mallard landed on a railing opposite her. No idea if they were a pair, or if he was hoping to make them a pair. I'm not sure if I've ever seen a Mallard on a fence before.

Much as I don't like interrupting my Trinidad & Tobago images, I did want to add a few more local photos, otherwise I might forget. Seeing my calendar filling up rather quickly, I know that I will be getting various chances to take photos, and it would help greatly if I can get the last two days of my Trinidad photos finished.

"If someone at a park is feeding bread to ducks, chances are there are Mallards in the fray. Perhaps the most familiar of all ducks, Mallards occur throughout North America and Eurasia in ponds and parks as well as wilder wetlands and estuaries. The male’s gleaming green head, gray flanks, and black tail-curl arguably make it the most easily identified duck. Mallards have long been hunted for the table, and almost all domestic ducks come from this species." From AllAboutBirds.

Occasionally, Mallards have been known to show up in people’s swimming pools. My good friend, Art (Leapfrog), has had more than 45 on his pool at any given time. His pool is covered, with a layer of water on top of the cover. One special pair, Daisy and Donald, have been coming to his backyard pool for at least 11 or 12 years!

www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Mallard/id

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mallard