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Lady and the three Duckateers
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| Photo Information |
Copyright: Nel Diepstraten (NellyD)
![Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 362 W: 0 N: 697]](http://i1.treklens.com/misc/g-n-g.gif) (2745) |
| Genre: Places |
| Medium: Color |
| Date Taken: 2006-09-25 |
| Categories: Nature |
| Camera: Canon 350 D |
| Photo Version: Original Version |
| Date Submitted: 2007-02-03 9:57 |
| Viewed: 638 |
| Points: 14 |
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| [Note Guidelines] Photographer's Note |
This is another one of my ducks shots, taken on the day we visited Remouchamps in the Ardennes in Belgium. This female duck was in the company of these three guys. They followed here when she went in to the water and when she came out of the water.
I guess she was a real populair lady :-)
From the internet:
Like most duck species, there is a big difference in the way males (drakes) and females (hens) look. In order to attract a hen, the drake is much more colourful. For most of the year, he has a shiny green head, a white-ringed neck, brown chest and grey sides. The drake mallard also sports a brown back, black rump and tail.
The hen, on the other hand, is much less colourful. Her feathers are white and brown, which helps her blend in with her wetland surroundings. However, like the drake, she does have white and blue colouring on the speculum of her wings.
Mallards are dabbling ducks, meaning that they do not dive underwater for their food, but feed at or just below the surface. They are well adapted to eating both natural and ‘domestic’ foods (such as waste grain from harvests). Most of their diet is made up of plants, such as wetland plants and grains (like wheat, barley, rice and oats).
On occasion, mallards will eat animal foods. In coastal areas, mallards have been known to eat mussels. Mallards in other areas have also been observed eating insects and other invertebrates.
Each spring, the female mallard’s diet switches from plants to aquatic invertebrates found in wetlands. This diet provides her with the nutrition and energy she needs to lay and incubate a clutch of eggs.
During the lead-up to the fall migration, mallards tend to take in more food. By building up a store of fat on their bodies, they have a ready supply of energy and are better able to survive the cooler temperatures and long migratory flights.
Later in the summer, the ducks begin to move to larger wetlands, where the drakes molt (regrow their feathers). There, many drakes begin to court hens to form pair bonds, or ‘couples’. This is done through aerial courtship displays. They spend the rest of the summer feeding to ‘fatten up’ for the fall migration to the south. |
wenqing, anducina, Silvio2006, kokos101, pablominto, SunnysideSandy, jan515 has marked this note useful
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| Discussions |
| Thread | Thread Starter |
Messages |
Updated |
| To wenqing: Hi BK, | NellyD |
1 |
02-03 10:36 |
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Excellent compo and colours, great capture. Very nice birds.
TFS,
Andreea
Hi Nelly, lovely duks with splendid colors, great sharpness, very well done, have a nice week end, ciao Silvio
hi nel!
beautiful photo and excellent title :-)))
tfs
zoran
very good sharpness and details here Nel :)
the ducks look very cute :P
good framing :)
Hello Nel,
A cute group, well captured in a funny situation!
Seems like the guys are guarding the lady duck....
Good details are captured in the birds!
Greetings,
Pablo -
- jan515
![Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2498 W: 56 N: 3862]](http://i1.treklens.com/misc/g-g-g.gif)
(17484) - [2007-05-01 16:07]
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Hello Nel,
The result is priced, very good contrast, good colors and super details.
Greeting.
Janusz
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- ayse51
(20454)
- [2007-08-17 1:18]
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Hi Nei,I lıke ducks olso.I have two ducks in my garden.Very good work,TFS.Necla.
![Silver Note Writer [C: 8 W: 3 N: 65]](http://i1.treklens.com/misc/n-n-s.gif)
(397)
Excellent notes and a lovely photo Nel. They never seem to stay so still for me.
TFS
Sandy