Late Winter Action at the Lake

Technically, it is still winter on this western end of the country, but in contrast to the eastern regions, it has been a relatively warm winter with only a few minutes of snow. Migratory birds are returning, early it seems to me, while a few others stayed put or arrived from colder places to overwinter in the warmer climes along the Pacific coast.

As I was hiking around one of the local lakes, I heard a commotion in the water, where several ducks were chasing each other around. One of the females flew off, chased away by an aggressive male, who soon took off in flight after her.

Mallard duck

I saw two other males chasing around a female in the marshy water full of grasses and reeds. They were also having feisty interactions with each other, seemingly jostling for a better position near the female.

Aggressive male mallard about to ruffle his rival's feathers

I barely had any time to raise my trusty camera and grab snapshots of the heated action.

Male mallard tries to get way from a rival who just poked him in the tail feathers

The female finally had enough of the two males, and soon she flapped her wings aflutter, and bid adieu to her overly excited and very annoying suitors, whom not to be deterred followed after her across the marsh.

Male mallard duck flying after female in hopes of getting her attention

I read that mallard ducks get very frisky in the breeding season running from February to September, when they deposit 6-15 eggs on their nests near shallow waters full of insects, crustaceans, earthworms, vegetation, and so on (as found in Pocket Birds of Canada).

On another side of the lake, the wood ducks were more relaxed as they glided along the water in a peaceful group that was a marvel of aquatic coordination. The males are flashy with a regal crest and extravagant plumage of burgundies, browns, whites, blacks, reds, and blues.

The females are daintily graceful and less flashy than the males, as they shyly approach on a chariot of rippling waves.

I hope you enjoyed the happenings at the lake. Thank you for visiting.

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Images by @litguru