Show your Bird Portraits

Jack I must thank you for two things: posting such great images and inspiring me to look closely at a species I usually ignore. Comparing hundreds of images on the internet has shown the huge variety of bill colour. Several of them are identical to your original photo, so your original instinct may be correct after all. As to interbreeding, we call the results bitsas as they are bits of this and bits of that. It is very common in U.K. Mallards. Mallards and Canada geese are extremely common here. I'll have to give the latter species a closer look. You never know, I might snap a cackling goose. They are rare here, maybe because people don't look closely at the smaller ones.
 
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tarntyke said:
Jack I must thank you for two things: posting such great images and inspiring me to look closely at a species I usually ignore. Comparing hundreds of images on the internet has shown the huge variety of bill colour. Several of them are identical to your original photo, so your original instinct may be correct after all. As to interbreeding, we call the results bitsas as they are bits of this and bits of that. It is very common in U.K. Mallards. Mallards and Canada geese are extremely common here. I'll have to give the latter species a closer look. You never know, I might snap a cackling goose. They are rare here, maybe because people don't look closely at the smaller ones.

I went out this morning to talk to those two and ask them just who they are but they weren't responding. I must say they strike me as rather small for mallards; could this be their first year?

Jack
 
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Based on eye stripe and blue speculum (flash on side), I'd say these are definitely mallards. They could be this year's young. It's been a poor year for ducklings at my usual sites. Maybe a good year for foxes and lesser black-backed gulls that predate young birds. You've inspired me to get up early and take some photos. Thanks.
Can anyone here help you?
http://edmontonnatureclub.org/beginning-birders.html
 
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Hi Jack.
Ahh, that was the conundrum, all the others look very much like your Mallard, this one was definitely one of the paddling of ducks on the river but stood out for its uniqueness.
I put the question mark in the name because it may not be pure Mallard and I was hoping someone would confirm or refute my ID of the duck!
Location is Newport harbour Isle of Wight southern U.K. if that helps.

Cheers, Graham.

Jack Douglas said:
@ Kodakrome V nice close up.

@Graham All V nice and wow your mallard sure doesn't look like mine!

Jack
 
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Valvebounce said:
I put the question mark in the name because it may not be pure Mallard and I was hoping someone would confirm or refute my ID of the duck!
Location is Newport harbour Isle of Wight southern U.K. if that helps
Looks like hybrid of mallard and escaped white farmyard duck. Domesticated ducks are subspecies of pure mallard. Look up Welsh Harlequin, this looks similar to your bird which could be an escape. Sometimes see leucistic (albino) birds with all or partial white plumage.
http://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/34992057
 
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@Jack, Kodakrome and Graham

Nice shots, all!

While we're on water-fowl...

Misty mood picture of a grebe family heading towards the island (the other young had strayed outside the widest view angle of my 100-400),
and
Common moorhen, mistakenly looking for his (/her) nest in my garden ;)
 

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