Spring Mallards

Warm weather has brought the mallard ducks back north. They’re here in big flocks, finding food (probably a plant of some type) in the little pools of melting ice everywhere. They’ve all found their mates & have paired up again. Soon they will be building nests & raising ducklings. The females have excellent camouflage; you often don’t notice them until they fly up only a few feet away. They swim in the ice-cold creeks & rivers, but with their warm, oiled & insulated feathers, it doesn’t bother them at all. But it won’t be long until the water is warm – when the mallards show up, spring is always nearby.