Mallard

When picturing a duck, the mallard, Anas platyrhynchos, is probably what comes to mind.  The male drake, with his shiny green head, is especially iconic.  This species is the most widespread duck in the U.S., so it is not surprising that they are very familiar. 

 

Today I took a longer way home from work, detouring past a stream that runs along some undeveloped land. The creek (Spring Creek, I guess I should call it, since that is its name once it veers south from near Garfield Street to run along Spring Creek Road) must be warm from city runoff, because it doesn't seem to freeze and even provides some green vegetation in January. Last year, in February, I saw mallards on the same section of this stream. I wondered if they would nest here, but they disappeared before spring progressed very far. Today, one pair was back. 

These weren't the tame mallards of some city parks, used to stuffing themselves on handouts of bread.  Both the male and the plainer brown female were skittish and wild, swimming away from where I stood and trying to hide behind the tall, dry grass. 

The Animal Diversity Web states that the quacking sound one usually associates with ducks is made primarily by the female hen, generally to call her ducklings.  The mallards I saw today were silent.  I wonder if this couple is the same as the pair in the following photo from mid-February last year.  Notice the snow that is severely lacking this year!

Last year, the mallard flew off when I tried to get closer.  This year, I did not chase them, but let them be.  Better photographs will have to wait for tamer ducks!