Photos

Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos)

Mallards are known as "surface feeding" ducks because they dip and dabble in the shallows of fresh and salt water marshes. They do not usually dive below the surface, except that young birds or molting (flightless) adults sometimes dive to avoid danger. Mallards are agile fliers who can take off almost vertically.
The Mallard is a wide ranging duck. Its North American population is nearly 9 million. In summer the mallard can be seen throughout Alaska and much of Canada and northern United States.
It generally avoids salt water and prefers any shallow body of fresh water.

Mallards can range in size from 20-28 inches long with a wingspan reaching between 30 and 40 inches. The male is larger than the female.

The mallard feeds by "tipping up" and reaching below the surface with its bill in the shallows of ponds, lakes, streams and swamps. Mallards can feed anywhere that water is a foot or two deep, although they can reach for food in deeper water if necessary.

I took photo of this mallard female very near my home. She was very cautious, and I cannot approach very close. So this picture is a very hard crop from the original photo. I decreased its size only at 30%. I love my lens :)