Friday, November 6, 2009

Down by the Dock: Ducks!! (Part Two of Two)

This is Part Two of a two part series of pictures of ducks that came to visit me last week at our lake.

They were swimming out towards the middle of our lake and when they saw me on the dock, they came swimming up to me, blessing me with some really nice closeups of them.

I worry about that.

Because here, it is duck season!!!

I fear these were so tamed during the summer that they were not afraid of people.

Luckily, most of our lake is inhabited by cabins or homes so there are not many areas of the lake where hunters can come duck hunting for them.

If they stay in our bay, we are right on Main Street of town, so they are super safe there.


Just look how pretty this female mallard's "backside" is!!


And her bright yellow bill! (Along with a drop of slobber!):






They swam into our bay where the fall colors helped hide them a bit:






Three lovely ducks!:





The one on the right is shaking the water off of her head.

It made me laugh:








I loved their reflections along with the fall color:




I think all this drinking is why she slobbers so much!:





And besides all that drinking, slobbering, and shaking their heads, they also scratch themselves a lot.


I wonder if they are JOCKS???

Despite their lack of manners, I like them anyway!!
They win me over with their sweet faces and beauty.
I hope they stay safe this duck hunting season....
and I hope they make it back to the lake next spring
to make me some more babies to photograph.
Maybe I should talk to them (woman to lady ducks) about getting rid of all that excessive drinking, slobbering, shaking and scratching so they better lure all those unsuspecting male Mallards to mate with....
Do you think it is a lost cause????

21 comments:

  1. Just as I suspected, they are too cute. I love the little flecks of blue in their feathers, reflected perfectly in the water. I too hope they stay safe through duck hunting season to bring you new ducklings.

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  2. It's just real tough gettin' all your ducks in a row! Great pictures of these magnificent creatures.

    As we say down here in the Ozarks hills and hollers, "ya'll have a wonderfully blessed day!!!"

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  3. You are so good at this. Wonderful pictures. Some people don't pay attention to the female mallard, but she is very beautiful. I like them all. Reflections are magical.

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  4. The duck shaking off the water! Love it!!!

    Yikes you have peeps taking your photos? Weird things have been happening; my other friends had their stuff taken, and someone has taken my blog name and put it on a male interest blog as the TITLE, and now I get "visitors" from strange places! So frustrating!

    Hope you have a great weekend!!!

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  5. FLeas, my dear, fleas! Our cats, squirrels, raccoons, et al, are suffering this year!
    Great photos.

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  6. wonderful close ups. love that splash of blue in their feather. make sure you duck if you hear a boom!

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  7. Beautiful close ups of these ducks. I love watching them if I ever get near any.. I used to love watching them when they had their young with them. So cute!

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  8. DJan: I know! Usually the male mallards get all the attention for their wonderful colorful bodies, but the female is so pretty too!

    Nezzy: Thanks so much! Glad you stopped back by this northern girl's blog. ha

    L.D.: Thanks SO much. I agree...many times the males of the duck species get all the attention because they are usually more colorful...but these female mallards are gorgeous too.

    Insanity Kim: Actually, I have only heard of two pictures taken, but I wanted to start posting the warnings before I decide to start selling them or marketing them some...I now will use copyscape to start tracking them closer. Someone stole your blog title?? Good LORD! I have been getting comments for some sex site that I have to refuse to publish almost every day, but I doubt if they will want to name their sex site The Retirement Chronicles. Bwhahaaahhaa

    Jenn: Yes, I figured it was probably fleas, but I am in denial. Something that cuddly can't possibly have fleas, right>?
    ha

    Brian: Goodness, I hope no one shoots over my head to get at one of the ducks. Yikes. Thanks. Now I am gonna be paranoid. ha

    Ginnymo: I know! Aren't the fuzzy ducklings just the cutest thing EVER?? It is hard for me to remember they are wild birds when I see them.

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  9. I've never seen a female duck so up close -I'm one of those that thought it wasn't fair that the male duck got to be so pretty. I was wrong they are pretty -that blue I didn't even know was there.
    vickie

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  10. Gorgeous photos, your ducks have so much blue which is different from the ones here. I love watching their antics, they are so entertaining.

    I've been noticing the female mallards drinking more lately, not sure if I'm noticing it more or they are drinking more. I will try to get some of my ducks posted soon, our Teals have arrived and they are so cute.

    Judy

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  11. You take wonderful photos Joan...even got the beads of water on their backs!!!

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  12. Vickie: Yes, I think the females have a quiet beauty all of their own.

    SquirrelQueen: I look forward to your duck pictures, too!

    Wanda: Thanks so much! My camera is really nice, I love its capabilities.

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  13. The colors in these pictures are amazing. You have a great eye and a lot of patience to wait for the prefect shot. Thank you!
    xo

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  14. Joanna: Thanks so much!! Nature did all the work on the colors and ducks though. ha

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  15. Ducks are some of my favorites. My favorite part of your pictures is seeing the water drops rolling down their backs.

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  16. Oh these little ducks are so cute, and I am amazed how clear your photo's are, thank you my friend, let's hope they are back with us next spring......:-) Hugs

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  17. Ratty: I loved those water droplets on their backs too. Makes me want to reach in and pet them off of their backs for them.

    Bernie: They are little cuties, aren't they? Thanks!

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  18. Wonderful Duck photos! We still have some around..until freeze up then they move out:)

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  19. Far Side: yes, we will freeze up here too and they will go away. :-{

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  20. I felt like I could reach out and touch that one duck. How beautiful and you know just how soft they are.

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  21. Grannyann: Thanks so much for the nice compliment. I probably could have pet one of them, they came really close to the dock!

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