Mallard
Anas platyrhynchos
Mallards are one of the most common ducks in the northern hemisphere. They are perhaps the most recognizable ducks in the world. Most domesticated ducks can trace their ancestry to this bird. Mallard drakes are sexually aggressive and will force copulation on to any hen from the genus Anas, producing fertile hybrid offspring and confusing the gene pool of otherwise purebred ducks. Mallards are highly adaptable in their choice of habitat and their diet. They can exploit many regions, both rural and urban, from tropical to tundra, and consume both animal and plant food sources.
Vocally, it is easy to distinguish the hen from the drake. Males offer a quiet “wak-wak-wak-wak” sound, while the females issue those raucous, almost angry sounding “WAAACK-WACK-WACK-Wack-wak” calls most of us hear. Perhaps she is angry. She is the only member of the breeding pair to take responsibility for raising the babies.
Taxonomists recognise two subspecies of Mallard:
- A. p. platyrhynchos lives across Eurasia (except Greenland and the Arctic), and in Eurasia to northern Africa and southern Asia. We find them in North America, from Canada to northern Mexico, and in the Greater Antilles. We have introduced them widely in the Southern Hemisphere.
- A. p. conboschas lives in Greenland.
My meetings with Mallards have been throughout much of Western North America, including California, Arizona, New Mexico, Oregon, Wyoming, and in Canada’s Alberta and Yukon provinces.
46 Photos
Mallard(Anas platyrhynchos) |
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Description: Mom with chicks at Santee Lakes in Santee, California. San Diego County. |
Date Taken: 2015:07:05 9:00 |
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Location:
Santee Lakes |
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Camera Information: NIKON D3X, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/250 |
File Name: D3X2010-Mallard |
| © 2015 Jack Daynes, shadeTree-Imaging.com |
Mallard(Anas platyrhynchos) |
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Description: Mom with chicks at Santee Lakes in Santee, California. San Diego County. |
Date Taken: 2015:07:05 9:01 |
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Location:
Santee Lakes |
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Camera Information: NIKON D3X, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/160 |
File Name: D3X2019-Mallard |
| © 2015 Jack Daynes, shadeTree-Imaging.com |
Mallard(Anas platyrhynchos) |
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Description: Wild birds I met during a day at the San Diego Zoo in Balboa Park. San Diego California USA. |
Date Taken: 2012:05:17 9:07 |
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Location:
Hillcrest |
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Camera Information: NIKON D3X, 550 mm, f/5.6, 1/60 |
File Name: D3X2339-Mallard-Chicks |
| © 2012 Jack Daynes, shadeTree-Imaging.com |
Mallard(Anas platyrhynchos) |
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Description: Wild birds I met during a day at the San Diego Zoo in Balboa Park. San Diego California USA. |
Date Taken: 2012:05:17 9:34 |
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Location:
Hillcrest |
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Camera Information: NIKON D3X, 550 mm, f/5.6, 1/100 |
File Name: D3X2382-Mallard-Chicks |
| © 2012 Jack Daynes, shadeTree-Imaging.com |
Mallard(Anas platyrhynchos) |
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Description: Gray Lodge Wildlife Area in Butte County, California. |
Date Taken: 2011:12:30 11:09 |
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Location:
Gray Lodge Wildlife Area |
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Camera Information: NIKON D3X, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/1000 |
File Name: D3X5993-Mallard |
| © 2011 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Mallard(Anas platyrhynchos) |
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Description: In flight pair at Sacramento NWR, between Willows and Williams, California. |
Date Taken: 2011:12:31 10:25 |
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Location:
Sacramento NWR |
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Camera Information: NIKON D3X, 800 mm, f/5.6, 1/3200 |
File Name: D3X6184-Mallard |
| © 2011 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Mallard(Anas platyrhynchos) |
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Description: A new family at the Tijuana River Valley Regional Park, San Diego County, California. |
Date Taken: 2013:05:18 9:05 |
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Location:
Tijuana River Regional Park |
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Camera Information: NIKON D3X, 800 mm, f/5.6, 1/4000 |
File Name: D3X7667-Mallard-Family |
| © 2013 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Mallard(Anas platyrhynchos) |
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Description: Drake at Miramar Lake. San Diego, California USA 2016-05-27. |
Date Taken: 2006:02:25 16:17 |
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Camera Information: NIKON D2X, 460 mm, f/5.6, 1/90 |
File Name: JCD1910Mallard |
| © 2006 Jack Daynes, shadeTree Imaging |
Mallard(Anas platyrhynchos) |
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Description: Female. San Dieguito Slough, Del Mar, California. San Diego County USA 2016-05-27. |
Date Taken: 2008:03:24 7:39 |
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Camera Information: NIKON D2X, 550 mm, f/5.6, 1/640 |
File Name: JCD3990Mallard |
| © 2008 Jack Daynes, shadeTree Imaging |
Mallard(Anas platyrhynchos) |
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Description: Female. San Dieguito Slough, Del Mar, California. San Diego County USA 2016-05-27. |
Date Taken: 2008:03:24 7:40 |
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Camera Information: NIKON D2X, 550 mm, f/5.6, 1/400 |
File Name: JCD3996Mallard |
| © 2008 Jack Daynes, shadeTree Imaging |
Mallard(Anas platyrhynchos) |
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Description: Nesting at Lake Fulmor in the Vista Grande site. Images from the SDNHM study of the Santa Rosa, San Jacinto Mountains. Riverside County, California USA 2016-05-27. |
Date Taken: 2010:06:04 17:36 |
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Location:
Lake Fulmor |
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Camera Information: NIKON D2X, 280 mm, f/7.1, 1/25 |
File Name: JCD9874.Mallard.Nest_.Eggs_ |
| © 2010 Jack Daynes, shadeTree Imaging |
Mallard(Anas platyrhynchos) |
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Description: Hen with chicks on Whelan Lake, near Oceanside, California. San Diego County USA 2016-05-27. |
Date Taken: 2002:07:04 13:23 |
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Camera Information: Nikon SUPER COOLSCAN 4000 ED, |
File Name: A2G04c36-Mallard |
| © 2002 Jack Daynes, shadeTree Imaging |
Mallard(Anas platyrhynchos) |
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Description: Female, grooming. Klamath Falls, Southern Oregon. |
Date Taken: 2003:12:15 9:32 |
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Location:
Klamath Falls |
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Camera Information: NIKON D1X, 800 mm, f/5.6, 1/180 |
File Name: JCD_4342Mallard |
| © 2011 Jack Daynes, (shadetree-Imaging.com) |
Mallard(Anas platyrhynchos) |
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Description: Vendel Road is also known as Unit #1 of the Salton Sea National Wildlife Refuge. It occupies the agricultural and marsh lands at the southern tip of the Salton Sea near Westmorland in Imperial County. |
Date Taken: 2019:10:28 14:12 |
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Location:
Vendel Road |
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Camera Information: NIKON D5, 800 mm, f/5.6, 1/8000 |
File Name: Mallard_D5X6465-VendelRoad-SaltonSea |
| © 2019 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Mallard(Anas platyrhynchos) |
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Description: Late afternoon fly-over at Unit 1 (Vendel Road), Salton Sea NWR in Imperial County California. |
Date Taken: 2019:10:10 16:00 |
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Location:
Vendel Road |
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Camera Information: NIKON D5, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/6400 |
File Name: Mallard-Flight_D5X9689-VendelRoad |
| © 2019 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Mallard(Anas platyrhynchos) |
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Description: Santee Lakes in Santee, California. San Diego County. |
Date Taken: 2014:12:19 11:43 |
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Location:
Santee Lakes |
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Camera Information: NIKON D3X, 800 mm, f/13.0, 1/1000 |
File Name: D3X4322-Mallard |
| © 2014 Jack Daynes, shadeTree-Imaging.com |
Mallard(Anas platyrhynchos) |
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Description: Mom with chicks at Santee Lakes in Santee, California. San Diego County. |
Date Taken: 2015:07:05 9:03 |
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Location:
Santee Lakes |
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Camera Information: NIKON D3X, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/200 |
File Name: D3X2033-Mallard |
| © 2015 Jack Daynes, shadeTree-Imaging.com |
Mallard(Anas platyrhynchos) |
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Description: Mom with chicks at Santee Lakes in Santee, California. San Diego County. |
Date Taken: 2015:07:05 9:00 |
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Location:
Santee Lakes |
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Camera Information: NIKON D3X, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/250 |
File Name: D3X2014-Mallard |
| © 2015 Jack Daynes, shadeTree-Imaging.com |
Mallard(Anas platyrhynchos) |
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Description: Colorado River below Davis Dam in Bullhead City, Arizona. |
Date Taken: 2016:03:13 12:30 |
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Location:
Davis Camp |
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Camera Information: NIKON D7200, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/1250 |
File Name: D723602-Mallard |
| © 2016 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Mallard(Anas platyrhynchos) |
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Description: Malheur NWR is in southeastern Oregon, west of Steens Mountains and south of Burns Oregon. Harney County. |
Date Taken: 2017:08:30 6:51 |
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Location:
Malheur NWR |
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Camera Information: NIKON D5, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/3200 |
File Name: Mallard-Hen_D5X8277-MalheurNWR |
| © 2017 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Mallard(Anas platyrhynchos) |
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Description: Malheur NWR is in southeastern Oregon, west of Steens Mountains and south of Burns Oregon. Harney County. |
Date Taken: 2017:08:30 6:51 |
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Location:
Malheur NWR |
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Camera Information: NIKON D5, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/6400 |
File Name: Mallard-Hen_D5X8267-MalheurNWR |
| © 2017 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Mallard(Anas platyrhynchos) |
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Description: At the Dairy Mart "Stick Pond" in the Tijuana River Valley. San Ysidro, California. San Diego County. |
Date Taken: 2015:02:01 10:13 |
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Location:
Dairy Mart Ponds |
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Camera Information: NIKON D3X, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/1000 |
File Name: D3X6112-Mallard |
| © 2015 Jack Daynes, shadeTree-Imaging.com |
Mallard(Anas platyrhynchos) |
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Description: Female at the Dairy Mart Ponds, in the Tijuana River Valley Regional Park, San Diego County, California. |
Date Taken: 2013:06:13 9:37 |
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Location:
Tijuana River Regional Park |
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Camera Information: NIKON D3X, 800 mm, f/5.6, 1/1000 |
File Name: D3X9454-Mallard-Female |
| © 2013 Jack Daynes, shadeTree Imaging |
Mallard(Anas platyrhynchos) |
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Description: Juvenile at the Dairy Mart Ponds, in the Tijuana River Valley Regional Park, San Diego County, California. |
Date Taken: 2013:06:13 9:37 |
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Location:
Tijuana River Regional Park |
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Camera Information: NIKON D3X, 800 mm, f/5.6, 1/800 |
File Name: D3X9451-Mallard-Juvenile |
| © 2013 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Mallard(Anas platyrhynchos) |
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Description: Juveniles at the Dairy Mart Ponds, in the Tijuana River Valley Regional Park, San Diego County, California. |
Date Taken: 2013:06:13 9:30 |
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Location:
Tijuana River Regional Park |
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Camera Information: NIKON D3X, 800 mm, f/5.6, 1/1250 |
File Name: D3X9438-Mallard-Juvenile |
| © 2013 Jack Daynes, shadeTree Imaging |
Mallard(Anas platyrhynchos) |
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Description: Mom with babies at Henderson, Nevada outside of Las Vegas at the "Bird Viewing Preserve". |
Date Taken: 2015:05:05 12:12 |
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Location:
Bird Viewing Preserve |
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Camera Information: NIKON D3X, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/1000 |
File Name: D3X9128-Mallard |
| © 2015 Jack Daynes, shadeTree Imaging |
Mallard(Anas platyrhynchos) |
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Description: Wild duckling I met during a day at the San Diego Zoo in Balboa Park. San Diego California USA. |
Date Taken: 2012:05:17 9:09 |
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Location:
Hillcrest |
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Camera Information: NIKON D3X, 550 mm, f/5.6, 1/60 |
File Name: D3X2357-Mallard-Chicks |
| © 2012 Jack Daynes, shadeTree-Imaging.com |
Mallard(Anas platyrhynchos) |
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Description: Wild birds I met during a day at the San Diego Zoo in Balboa Park. San Diego California USA. |
Date Taken: 2012:05:17 9:33 |
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Location:
Hillcrest |
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Camera Information: NIKON D3X, 420 mm, f/5.6, 1/80 |
File Name: D3X2373-Mallard-Chicks |
| © 2012 Jack Daynes, shadeTree-Imaging.com |
Mallard(Anas platyrhynchos) |
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Description: At 6:15am I was the first guest at the preserve and I stayed until 12:30. Bird Viewing Preserve in Henderson, southern Nevada. |
Date Taken: 2020:11:09 11:14 |
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Location:
Bird Viewing Preserve |
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Camera Information: NIKON D5, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/4000 |
File Name: Mallard_D5X8492-Henderson-BVP |
| © 2020 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Mallard(Anas platyrhynchos) |
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Description: Jerry and I spent a few hours at the Albuquerque Zoo, where I've always enjoyed their Duck Pond and the wild ducks that congregate there. |
Date Taken: 2020:12:06 14:23 |
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Location:
Bio-Park Zoo |
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Camera Information: NIKON D5, 400 mm, f/8.0, 1/1000 |
File Name: Mallard_D5X6307-ABQ-BioPark-Zoo |
| © 2020 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Mallard(Anas platyrhynchos) |
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Description: I found a Mallard pair loafing behind the Umpqua Triangle Oysters building in Winchester Bay (Oregon). |
Date Taken: 2022:04:01 12:26 |
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Location:
Winchester Bay |
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Camera Information: NIKON D850, 800 mm, f/9.0, 1/800 |
File Name: Mallard_8509503-WinchesterBay |
| © 2022 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Mallard(Anas platyrhynchos) |
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Description: During my two-day stay in Cody Wyoming, I paid two visits to nearby Alkali Lake and enjoyed the waterfowl, shorebirds, and gulls I met there. |
Date Taken: 2022:05:16 10:21 |
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Location:
Alkali Lake |
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Camera Information: NIKON D850, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/4000 |
File Name: Mallard_8501316-Cody-AlkaliLake |
| © 2022 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Mallard(Anas platyrhynchos) |
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Description: All the Mallards on Crystal Lake were competing for mates. Their antics involved many take-offs and landings, and I enjoyed chasing the action through my lens. |
Date Taken: 2022:05:31 13:39 |
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Location:
Crystal Lake |
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Camera Information: NIKON D850, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/8000 |
File Name: Mallard_8504841-CrystalLake.GrandePrairie |
| © 2022 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Mallard(Anas platyrhynchos) |
|
Description: All the Mallards on Crystal Lake were competing for mates. Their antics involved many take-offs and landings, and I enjoyed chasing the action through my lens. |
Date Taken: 2022:05:31 16:15 |
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Location:
Crystal Lake |
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Camera Information: NIKON D850, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/8000 |
File Name: Mallard_8505526-CrystalLake.GrandePrairie |
| © 2022 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Mallard(Anas platyrhynchos) |
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Description: All the Mallards on Crystal Lake were competing for mates. Their antics involved many take-offs and landings, and I enjoyed chasing the action through my lens. |
Date Taken: 2022:05:31 16:17 |
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Location:
Crystal Lake |
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Camera Information: NIKON D850, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/8000 |
File Name: Mallard_8505545-CrystalLake.GrandePrairie |
| © 2022 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Mallard(Anas platyrhynchos) |
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Description: All the Mallards on Crystal Lake were competing for mates. Their antics involved many take-offs and landings, and I enjoyed chasing the action through my lens. |
Date Taken: 2022:05:31 16:18 |
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Location:
Crystal Lake |
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Camera Information: NIKON D850, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/8000 |
File Name: Mallard_8505597-CrystalLake.GrandePrairie |
| © 2022 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Mallard(Anas platyrhynchos) |
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Description: All the Mallards on Crystal Lake were competing for mates. Their antics involved many take-offs and landings, and I enjoyed chasing the action through my lens. |
Date Taken: 2022:05:31 16:18 |
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Location:
Crystal Lake |
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Camera Information: NIKON D850, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/8000 |
File Name: Mallard_8505619-CrystalLake.GrandePrairie |
| © 2022 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Mallard(Anas platyrhynchos) |
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Description: All the Mallards on Crystal Lake were competing for mates. Their antics involved many take-offs and landings, and I enjoyed chasing the action through my lens. |
Date Taken: 2022:05:31 16:20 |
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Location:
Crystal Lake |
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Camera Information: NIKON D850, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/8000 |
File Name: Mallard_8505628-CrystalLake.GrandePrairie |
| © 2022 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Mallard(Anas platyrhynchos) |
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Description: I followed up my afternoon visit to McIntyre Marsh, northwest of Whitehorse, with a second visit the next morning. I watched these Mallard drakes leave the marsh, knowing full-well, the hens would have to stay until their broods grew enough to fly south. |
Date Taken: 2022:06:17 8:40 |
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Location:
McIntyre Marsh |
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Camera Information: NIKON D850, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/8000 |
File Name: Mallard_8500898-McIntyreMarsh.YK_ |
| (C)Jack Daynes |
Mallard(Anas platyrhynchos) |
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Description: Coming in for a landing. At 6:15am I was the first guest at the preserve and I stayed until 12:30. Bird Viewing Preserve in Henderson, southern Nevada. |
Date Taken: 2020:11:09 8:48 |
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Location:
Bird Viewing Preserve |
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Camera Information: NIKON D5, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/2000 |
File Name: Mallard_D5X7752-Henderson-BVP |
| © 2020 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Mallard(Anas platyrhynchos) |
|
Description: All the Mallards on Crystal Lake were competing for mates. Their antics involved many take-offs and landings, and I enjoyed chasing the action through my lens. |
Date Taken: 2022:05:31 16:15 |
|
Location:
Crystal Lake |
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Camera Information: NIKON D850, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/8000 |
File Name: Mallard_8505532-CrystalLake.GrandePrairie |
| © 2022 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Mallard(Anas platyrhynchos) |
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Description: Mallard Ducks had produced large babies on my third visit to Crystal Lake in Grande Prairie. It came on January Third, as I was driving from Dawson Creek to Slave Lake. |
Date Taken: 2022:07:03 15:49 |
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Location:
Crystal Lake |
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Camera Information: NIKON D850, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/6400 |
File Name: Mallard_8508029-GrandePrairie.AB_ |
| © 2022 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Mallard(Anas platyrhynchos) |
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Description: I spent only a little more than an hour for my first visit to the Sweetwater Wetlands a little west of Tucson. I found it lovely, and I expect to visit it again, and again. Still learning the features of my new Nikon Z9 camera, I tested its tracking capabilities on these Mallards. |
Date Taken: 2023:03:18 16:24 |
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Location:
Sweetwater Wetlands Park |
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Camera Information: NIKON Z 9, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/800 |
File Name: Mallard_ZX92222_SweetwaterWetlands-Tucson-AZ |
| © 2023 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Mallard(Anas platyrhynchos) |
|
Description: I spent only a little more than an hour for my first visit to the Sweetwater Wetlands a little west of Tucson. I found it lovely, and I expect to visit it again, and again. Still learning the features of my new Nikon Z9 camera, I tested its tracking capabilities on these Mallards. |
Date Taken: 2023:03:18 16:25 |
|
Location:
Sweetwater Wetlands Park |
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Camera Information: NIKON Z 9, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/800 |
File Name: Mallard_ZX92255_SweetwaterWetlands-Tucson-AZ |
| © 2023 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Mallard(Anas platyrhynchos) |
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Description: Mom and young chicks at Veteran's Park in urban Klamath Falls Oregon. Here, the Klamath River joins Upper Klamath Lake and Lake Ewauna and is called the "Link River". |
Date Taken: 2016:05:05 8:57 |
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Location:
Veteran's Park |
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Camera Information: NIKON D7200, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/1000 |
File Name: D720276-Mallard-Family |
| © 2016 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Mallard(Anas platyrhynchos) |
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Description: Lee Metcalf NWR in the Bitterroot Valley near Stevensville, Montana. |
Date Taken: 2015:05:26 15:40 |
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Location:
Lee Metcalf NWR |
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Camera Information: NIKON D3X, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/2500 |
File Name: D3X4935-Mallard |
| © 2015 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
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