Mallards are large, dabbling ducks with rounded, large bodies, wide bills and rounded heads. Males are more colorful than the females.
I visited my local ponds yesterday even though the sky was gray, and snow was falling. While I was there, I photographed this male Mallard resting in the snow.
On New Year's Day morning, I had fun photographing a drake Mallard from the auto tour loop of Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge as he lifted off from the marsh.
I went through all of the photos I have taken on Christmas eve throughout the years and this jolly-looking drake Mallard spoke the loudest to me.
I can't pass up photographing mountain Mallard babies when I find their little fluffy selves on mountain creeks, streams, lakes, or reservoirs.
It's hard to ignore the adorable charm of baby birds, which is why I couldn't resist taking some photos of these precious Mallard ducklings yesterday.
I enjoy photographing even the most abundant ducks at my local city ponds. I simply couldn't resist taking images of this calling Mallard drake two days ago.
I headed down to my neighborhood ponds yesterday morning while there was some sunshine and my favorite image of the day was simply a duck on a rock.
After I photographed the handsome Gadwall drake that I shared yesterday I couldn't resist taking images of this alert and dapper Mallard drake in the snow.
Well, I made it through the Christmas part of the holidays this year in one piece and I am feeling just ducky.
While at one of my local ponds two days ago, the only birds I photographed were ducks. This Mallard hen floating on silky water caught my eyes.
This morning I am sharing a simple drake Mallard photo taken at my local pond. I liked this image because of the reflections of the duck, light pole and leaf.
I took this low light Mallard drake photo yesterday while I walked along the Jordan River in the chill of the early morning.
This morning I am sharing photos of Mallard ducklings and blooming White Water Crowfoot taken in a creek high in the Wasatch Mountains.
This morning I wanted to share some photos of the birds and blooms that I took images of one morning last week while I was high in the Wasatch Mountains.
I took this photo of ducks on the wing over the marsh on my most recent trip up to the wetlands of Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge.
The photo I liked the most from yesterday was of winter waterfowl on a small pond with mist rising from the water and hoar frost covering the vegetation.
I did get out to find and photograph birds on Christmas Day at Farmington Bay WMA and then later in the morning I found more closer to home.
The Great Egret landed where I had views of Hooded and Common Mergansers and three Mallards resting on the ice on the Bear River.
I spent my morning up in the Wasatch Mountains yesterday and came home with photos of bluebells, currants, warblers, and a duck.
Last week I took a series of photos of a Mallard hen as she landed on slippery ice at a pond close to home in Salt Lake City.
I spent a couple of hours yesterday photographing winter birds at Farmington Bay WMA and closer to home in the morning and afternoon.
I know from experience that when I post Mallard photos and write about them here on my site that they don't seem to get as many views as other birds do.
Because of the low light and snowy conditions on the first day of the year I did not take many photos of the birds that I saw but I did get a few mallard images that I liked.
This post is about this pretty little Mallard hen walking in the fresh snow that fell during the night two days ago.
This was my favorite image of the morning. Just a fluffy mallard feather and the silky reflections on the pond.
When I was at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge a few days ago I saw lots of ducks in the marshes and on the water and I realized that I am looking forward to photographing winter ducks again.
The only image I liked of the few I took yesterday afternoon was of this resting, feral domestic Mallard that appeared to be keeping an eye on me while it floated next to the shoreline of the pond.
When I have the opportunity to take photos of birds in the sweet golden light of sunset I jump at the chance even if the bird is as common as a Mallard hen landing on a pond. Why wouldn't I?
Okay, that is enough for now, there are more birds that people love to hate but I can only deal with so much of it before I feel the need to get out and photograph all the birds I see, even those that other people despise.
My favorite image of the day was this high key Mallard drake portrait that was taken in the late afternoon which was the only time I could see the sun behind the clouds the whole day.