American Wigeons & Mallards
Two more winter ducks that have been gracing our area are American Wigeons and Mallards.
The American Wigeons will quickly be leaving us and heading back to their breeding grounds in the U.S. mid-West and Canada.
American Wigeons
American Wigeon (male)
The Chesapeake Bay region hosts Mallards year-round but some do venture a little further south where it’s a little warmer (who can blame them!). We may also receive winter migrants from Canada.
Mallard (male)
“Snoozin’ Time” “Dinner Time”
Mallards in flight and landing
Mallard Profile
The winter ducks have been fun stuff! 😊
All great photos. I especially like the one with the two Mallards flying.
Thank you, Hien!
Great photos Donna! The mallards are so common that their beautiful colors sometimes go unappreciated, but they make a lovely pair. We don’t seem to get wigeons in our cove on Kent Island but I have seen them up close at Oakley Street, and they are gorgeous – male and female. Thanks for sharing!
Thank you, Susan! Yes, Mallards do go unappreciated because they are everywhere and are accustom to humans. I always loved taking my grandson to Fisherman’s Inn’s little pond where the feed machine is erected. The ducks were always waiting. 🙂
Wigeons…………what a cute name. 😃 Lovely shots again, Donna. I enjoyed seeing all these sweet ducks.
Thank you, Sylvia, they are so sweet and adorable little duckies!
They are quite handsome!
They certainly are! 😊
Wonderful photos Donna. I particularly like the wigeon head shot and the “waterskiing” mallard!
Thank you, Belinda!
Excellent shots Donna! My favorite is the couple in flight (second from the bottom) 🙂
Thank you, Hien!
They are so pretty!
They sure are, especially when they ‘light up’ in sunshine!
Great shots! Love the ducks. They make me smile. 🙂
Thank you, they are entertaining and make me smile too! 🙂
Very nice Donna! Nice variety of Duck photo subjects!
Thank you, Reed! We’re both in that mid-Atlantic region where we are graced with many duck species, lots of fun!
How wonderful for you and us to see these feathered friends (and photo subjects) come and go. It’s like you live in a vacation destination for waterfowl.
Thank you, Denise! The Chesapeake Bay is definitely a migrating winter bird’s vacation paradise!
Great pictures, portraits and flying shots, Donna!
Thank you, Helen! Who knew ducks could be so much fun?!!
I am so thankful for Mallards, especially in the winter, as they can brighten any day. And I love Wigeons, especially their cute whistles. It is the waterfowl that keeps me somewhat sane during the darker months of the year. Your flight photos are gorgeous, Donna.
Thank you, Tanja! I so much agree, our winter waterfowl is a silver lining to the woes of winter!
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Lovely and the in flight photos superb! I feel rather duck deprived but think we have less now. There used to be shovelers, tufted and a few others in a local park in London but haven’t seen much variety.
Thank you so much! I notice every winter, there seems to be more of some ducks and less of others. Another year will change it all up again.
I kept this one for awhile hoping to wrap my head around IDing these ducks 🦆 but I think I’ll just have to keep on relying on E. We rarely get close enough to ours, they’re so darned skittish. It doesn’t help that my eyesight ain’t what it used to be! Perhaps I’ll just stick with the hummingbirds. 🙃
Thank you, Gunta! I bet you’ll be IDing those hummingbirds easy-peasy by the end of the summer! Your sharing is a plus for me and my lack of hummingbird identification. 🙂