Ducks on Ice

When the chill of winter is settling into your bones, think of this pair of Mallard ducks swimming in the icy water.  By comparison, we are all cozy warm!  This little pond is just off the Sauk River and within the limits of our small town.  Here they are safe from hunters and have shelter and food.

On the other side of the snowy, brush-covered bank is the partially iced over river.

Another group of ducks huddles at the edge of the open water, preening their feathers and stretching their legs, necks, and wings.

They stand precariously close to the open water on the blue-colored thin ice.

Mallards are the most abundant and familiar of all ducks.  They live in any kind of wetland habitat.  The males or drakes have iridescent green heads, white neck rings, brown breasts, gray flanks, two black tail-curl feathers, and a yellow bill.  The females or hens are mottled brown with orange and brown bills.  Both have white-bordered blue speculum feathers on their wings.

Mallards are considered ‘dabbling ducks.’  They feed by tipping forward into the water to graze on underwater plants, invertebrates, amphibians, and fish.  They almost never dive completely under the water.  During migration, they also eat grains and plants in fields.

These long-bodied ducks pair up in the fall, long before spring breeding season.  After the breeding season, they shed all their feathers, leaving them flightless for three to four weeks.  The female incubates the eggs and cares for the ducklings.

Mallards are the ‘poster duck’ for all wild ducks.  Most domestic ducks come from this species.  They are abundant late fall migrants, wide-ranging in their habitat.  They are adaptable strong fliers and swimmers.  And they are beautiful!

May we have the grace to swim through rough, cold waters.  When we are walking on thin ice for whatever the reason, may we have the ability to swim or fly to save ourselves if we fall through.  May we have protection during our vulnerable, flightless times.  And with a patch of blue or a black curl, may we show our beauty to the world.